


By Joyful Happenstance

by archangelwithashotgun



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Sex, Being stood up, Charlie is Gabriel's Roommate, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Dates, First Kiss, Hurt Gabriel, Insecure Gabriel, Kali is Gabriel's Ex, Loving Sam, M/M, Mentioned Past Cheating, Sass, handjobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-10-11 18:05:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10470939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archangelwithashotgun/pseuds/archangelwithashotgun
Summary: Following a bad breakup from his ex-girlfriend, Gabriel was loathe to start a new relationship or even to begin dating. That view was only reinforced when his best friend sets him up on a blind date, who then subsequently stands him up. Finding true love was just something Gabriel felt was permanently elusive to him.When Sam Winchester approaches him at the campus bar the night of his failed date, however, Gabriel’s perspective on dating and love just might change for the better.Written for the 2016 Sabriel Big Bang.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My very first Sabriel Big Bang! My artist for this round has created some AMAZING artwork for this story and I am in LOVE with both pictures, please check them out!!
> 
> http://thisshouldbegabriel.tumblr.com/post/158817820837/my-art-for-archangel-with-a-shotgun-s-fic-by

Gabriel clicked his tongue as he skimmed over his psychology research paper, frowning as he caught sight of a few areas in need of editing. He lifted his mug of coffee and sighed, taking a cautious sip of the steaming beverage. Open notebooks, journal studies, and academic articles were strewn all over the table before him, leaving a small opening beside his laptop for his mug.

He swallowed his mouthful of hot coffee and winced as the near scalding heat slid roughly down his throat. He placed the mug back down on the kitchen table and refocused on his document. Placing the cursor in the appropriate location, Gabriel curled his fingers over his keyboard and continued to work.

Caught up in explaining the effects of dementia, he barely took notice of the front door of the apartment opening. He _did_ take notice when it was unceremoniously slammed shut, but spared it no more attention than a fond shake of the head right as his roommate announced her presence.

“What’s up, bitch?” Charlie called out.

“Wake up the entire world, why don’tcha?” Gabriel replied over his shoulder, keeping his focus on his laptop monitor as much as possible; there was no telling when his attention was going to be forced away from his work now that Charlie was home.

“Eh, why should _they_ get sleep?” Charlie answered, stepping into the living room and tossing her bag onto the couch. Gabriel scoffed.

“You’re the one that signed up for a Saturday morning history course,” he said, quirking a brow up as he turned toward her, “like an _idiot_.”

Charlie rolled her eyes and flopped her body over the back of the couch, pressing her face into one of the throw pillows resting at the end.

“Argh, I’m so _wired_ ,” she complained, her voice muffled by the fabric. “I wanna sleep but I can’t and I can’t think and I don’t wanna think and all that’s clouding my head at the moment is Rayworth’s discussion of democracy pie. What the ever living _fuck_ is democracy pie?”

Gabriel chuckled and saved his document; he had completed the last three pages this morning alone and was good for editing the entirety tonight before turning it in tomorrow morning. He closed his laptop and twisted around in his chair, facing Charlie fully.

“You’re the one who drank four cups of coffee this morning… _like an idiot_.”

Charlie twisted her head to aim a glare at the man. “You’re enjoying calling me an idiot today, aren’t you?”

“Hm, I was slacking this week,” Gabriel shrugged.

Charlie just groaned out an unhappy, high-pitched keen and shoved her face back into the pillow. Gabriel stood up, stretching the light stiffness that had settled in his back before walking to the fridge.

“I’m going to warm up the leftovers from last night, want some?” Gabriel asked.

“Ooo, yeah!” Charlie exclaimed, looking much perkier at the prospect of food as she finally emerged from her pillow hiding-place with a wide grin.

Gabriel smirked at having cheered his roommate up and opened the fridge, pulling out the Tupperware container full of leftover taco meat and rice. He pulled out a pan and emptied out the meat into it, turning on the gas stove to low flame just as Charlie took a seat at the only other vacant chair at the table.

“So Gabe,” Charlie began, and Gabriel could hear the shuffling of papers as she rearranged his school materials. “There was this guy in my history class and—“

“No,” he cut in, raising the flame to medium as he began to let the meat gradually heat up.

Behind him, an indignant huff of air was heard. “Gaaaabe, you didn’t even—“

“No.”

“But I just—“

“I can say it in Spanish if you want.”

“Argh! You’re so bullheaded! And not fun at all!” Charlie exclaimed, her mini-tantrum emphasized by the force she placed behind slamming Gabriel’s now neatly stacked notes back onto the table.

“And you need to stop meddling in my love life,” Gabriel retorted, turning a stern, raised brow to the redhead.

Charlie rolled her eyes. “How can I possible meddle in something that doesn’t exist?”

“I don’t want to be set up on a blind date, Charlie,” Gabriel said, the phrase rolling off his tongue in well-versed, practiced ease; this was far from the first time Charlie had confronted him in terms of allowing her to find him a suitable boyfriend. “I’m perfectly capable of going out and getting my own date if I wanted it.”

“I know that,” Charlie affirmed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the marginally cleared table surface. “But if left up to you, I won’t ever be able to bring any of _my_ dates home for the fear of you being the third wheel.”

“I can make an excellent third wheel,” Gabriel joked, bouncing his brow.

“And also a total cockblock,” Charlie whined.

“… Pretty sure you need a—“

“You know what I mean!” Charlie cut in, her eyes flashing with equal parts exasperation and amusement. Gabriel snorted and turned back to the stove.

The good-natured atmosphere between the two roommates lasted for a few moments afterward, broken only by the sound of the meat sizzling with building heat in the pan. As the seconds trickled by, however, Gabriel progressively grew tense as he noticed the humor in the air dying away, replaced with impending seriousness.

“Gabe,” Charlie suddenly said, and Gabriel braced himself for what he was sure was going to be discussed. “You can’t let… I know you don’t want to talk about this and I’m really sorry for bringing her up, but you can’t let Kali keep affecting you like this.”

Gabriel clenched his teeth at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. “You’re right. I don’t want to talk about that.”

“I’m sorry,” Charlie repeated, remorse thick in her voice.

Gabriel swallowed down the dull ache of anger and he nodded stiffly. “It’s in the past,” he murmured, taking a spatula and stirring the taco meat.

Charlie made a sympathetic noise behind him. “Yeah. But that’s exactly the point, isn’t it? Which is why you need to work on leaving it there and getting back out _there_. C’mon, Gabe, you used to _love_ dating!”

Gabriel huffed, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as reminiscence swept through his expression. Charlie apparently took that as a good sign and pressed on.

“Just meet the guy,” she said, her voice laced with gentle persuasion. “Just meet him, go on one date with him. If you don’t like him, you don’t ever have to see him again and I won’t badger you to give him another chance. But as long as you’re getting out there.”

Gabriel was silent as he listened to Charlie, occasionally giving the meat another stir. He frowned lightly, contemplating his choices. On one hand, he was terrified. He had been set up for heartbreak before, and he was surely justified in his hesitance to try and pursue another relationship. But according to Charlie, this wasn’t about getting into a relationship; rather, it seemed more like a social mingling to maybe get him comfortable enough to truly start dating again.

Maybe… Maybe it wouldn’t hurt, just going on one date with the guy.

Gabriel took in a deep breath and paused, eventually sighing out the words he was unable to believe were coming out of his mouth.

“Alright, fine. _One_ date.”

He looked at Charlie over his shoulder and pointed a stern finger at the girl who immediately let out a joyous whoop that punched through the air, cutting right through and obliterating any of the serious tension that lingered between the two. Gabriel smiled out of habit from his roommate’s obvious excitement, and he shook his head fondly.

“Just _one_ date, Charlie!” Gabriel reaffirmed.

“For now,” Charlie grinned, already pulling out her phone. “If you like him, you’ll have another date. Or you’ll try again with someone different. The point is this: you’re dating again! Woohoo!”

Gabriel scoffed but grinned all the same, shutting off the stove and trying to ignore the hot mess of intertwined dread, apprehension, and excitement coiling in his chest.

::

According to Charlie, they guy’s name was Dick Roman and he was one of the students that had been assigned to work in her group presentation for history. Their professor had granted them the last hour of lecture to get the distribution of work hashed out for the upcoming weeks, and in that hour Charlie had discovered that Dick was a business major, was gay, and was single. Apparently, he also had wits and charm and good looks to boot, and that’s how Charlie ended up leaving the class with Dick’s number in her phone for reasons separate from coursework.

After Gabriel had given her the go-ahead, Charlie had immediately contacted Dick to ask if he was also interested. The man had agreed easily enough, going so far as to provide Charlie with details as to where Gabriel should meet him and at what time. It was just at the campus bar down the street, which was totally fine with Gabriel; it was close enough and familiar enough that he wouldn’t feel too secluded or intimidated, and he actually quite liked that bar. Dick had texted Charlie that he would meet Gabriel there the following Friday at 7PM.

Which brought Gabriel to now, half-hour before the date, standing in front of his open closet with a deep frown, and his heart pounding with anticipation as he tried to find a suitable outfit to wear for the night.

“This shouldn’t be that difficult,” Gabriel muttered darkly, pulling out a blue dress shirt and glaring at it. “How the hell am I struggling with this?”

“You shouldn’t be!” Charlie’s voice rang out from the bathroom.

“Thanks, I already know that!” he called over his shoulder with a glower at the closed bathroom door before turning back to the closet. He tossed his blue shirt onto the bed, where a pile of discarded clothes were gradually starting to cover his mattress, and pulled out a plum one instead. “So why can’t I dress myself?”

“Oh come on,” Charlie said, emerging from the bathroom with her hairbrush. “Give yourself some credit. It _has_ been a while since you’ve been on a date.”

“But not since I’ve been able to choose a simple shirt and pair of pants,” Gabriel pointed out moodily.

“Dude, you’re hot,” Charlie commented casually, running her brush through her unruly red hair. “You’ll look great in whatever.”

“Pft. I know that,” Gabriel replied with an extra bite of playful snark. “The question is, _Charles_ , what would I look the _hottest_ in?”

Gabriel was feeling nowhere near as confident or secure about himself as he portrayed. He knew that and, he knew that Charlie knew that. But damnit, he had to counteract the butterflies in his stomach _somehow_. Charlie thankfully refrained from commenting on that, but she still sent Gabriel a stoic bitchface for his alteration on her name. She stepped forward and caught sight of the plum shirt clenched in Gabriel’s fist. She jabbed her finger toward it.

“Okay, wear that,” she said, and she turned away rummage through Gabriel’s closet. “Where are those black denim pants that make your ass look good?”

“They _all_ make my ass look good, I have a great ass,” Gabriel deadpanned, despite knowing exactly what pants she was talking about. “They’re on the shelf above the one you’re looking through.”

Charlie straightened up to look through the appropriate shelf and made a soft noise of triumph as she found the pants. She turned around and held them up with a grin. “Okay, these pants with that shirt,” she said, draping the pants over Gabriel’s arm. “Purple brings out the gold in your eyes in a really, _really_ awesome way. And the pants are obviously for further sex appeal.”

Gabriel quirked a brow at her. “That simple, huh?”

“That simple,” she nodded. “Now get dressed. Unless you want me to put you through a montage sequence of all your different outfits.”

“… Get the hell out of my room.”

Charlie smirked but left the room, her laughter echoing through the small hallway as she departed to the kitchen. Gabriel blew out a short breath as he looked down at the clothes in his arms. He briefly glanced at the nightstand alarm clock, his heart lurching as it read 6:32PM. He sighed and turned toward the mirror hanging on the closet door.

“Well, alright then,” Gabriel murmured, and began to change.

About ten minutes later, Gabriel stepped out of his room and head down the hallway toward the kitchen, dressed and softly emitting a spicy fragrance from his favorite cologne. Clad in the black jeans and plum dress shirt, the first two buttons unfastened to expose his collarbone, Gabriel ran his fingers nervously through his carefully tousled hair.

A shrill wolf-whistle cut through his worried thoughts.

“Well, hey there, _sexy_!” Charlie cat-called with a wide grin, perched on one of the barstools they had pushed up against the counter. “Man, if girls didn’t excite me so much—“

“Please, it’d never work,” Gabriel said, adjusting his sleeves to roll up toward his elbow. “Even if we were both straight… I’m _so_ out of your league.”

Charlie clicked her tongue and tilted her head, her lower lip jutted out in a cutesy pout. “Aw. I missed flirty, sarcastic Gabe. I almost forgot what a little shit he was.”

Gabriel snickered, snagging his wallet from the kitchen table before grabbing his black khaki jacket from the chair. “He wasn’t gone that long.”

“Eh, gone long enough,” Charlie smirked.

Gabriel huffed and slid his arms through the jacket sleeves. He checked the time on their microwave and flinched as a sudden stab of fright zapped through him.

“Shit, I gotta go,” he hissed, moving around in a flurry of fresh panic and nerve-wracking apprehension as he checked to make sure he had his essentials. “Um, I think I got… Yeah, okay, I got it, and I think… And there’s—“

“Gabriel.”

Gabriel’s stammering froze, snapping his head up to meet Charlie’s gentle eyes. She smiled warmly, kind encouragement gleaming all through her expression. She reached forward and cupped a hand around Gabriel’s bicep, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

“It’ll be alright,” Charlie soothed, all joking pretense gone as Gabriel slowly calmed down. “No matter what happens, ya got me. And we can still curl up on the couch and binge-watch _Game of Thrones_ while stuffing our faces with ice cream later tonight if you want.”

Gabriel took in a deep breath. “Yeah… that sounds good.”

“Great!” Charlie chirped with a grin. “Now go get ‘im, tiger!”

She firmly twirled Gabriel around and sent a sharp smack to his ass, jolting him in the direction of the front door. Gabriel grunted in surprise and sent a half-hearted glare over his shoulder as he walked hesitantly toward the door.

“Good luck!” Charlie called with a little wave and a beaming smile.

Gabriel waved back, hoping his returning smile wasn’t as weak as it felt on his face as he walked out of the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel firmly clenched his teeth together, swirling the tiny mouthful of scotch left inside his glass in a slow circle. He observed the amber hue glimmering underneath the bar lights, doing his best to focus on the warmth of the alcohol settling in his stomach rather than the heat of humiliation building in his chest.

Two and a half hours. That’s how long Gabriel had been waiting. Two and a half fucking hours. It had been an hour and a half before Gabriel both realized and accepted exactly what happened: he had been stood up. His first date in months, and he had been stood up.

Figures.

Dick Roman certainly lived up to his namesake.

“You sure I can’t get you anything else, Gabe?”

Gabriel glanced up. Jo Harvelle was leaning over the bar counter, elbows resting on the sleek surface, fingers linked together in a lax grip. Her blonde hair trailed down her shoulders and framed her soft face, which was pinched together with concern.

Fuck, Gabriel felt completely ridiculous in front of her. As one of Charlie’s closest friends, Jo was aware of Gabriel’s date tonight; she had been armed with playful winks and raunchy sex advice as soon as Gabriel had stepped foot inside the bar. Gabriel had just as easily shot back questions of when Jo was going to make a move on Charlie as retaliation; he had long held his suspicions that the two were pining for each other.

The familiarity of the bar’s environment and the presence of a friend had finally allowed Gabriel to relax, the fear trickling away with every joke and comment Jo threw his way, and he actually became _excited_. He was on a _date_. An actual fucking date, for the first time since Kali. A _date_!

His nerves had begun to flare up once more when a half-hour went by without a sign of Dick Roman. Gabriel had done his best to brush it off; Dick wasn’t really that late, and perhaps he had a valid excuse like an important phone call or getting caught up at work or something. It was fine, everything was fine.

But… Yeah, no, everything was fine.

It was about an hour into the date when suspicion as to what was happening had begun to settle uneasily in Gabriel’s stomach. Yet still, he had brushed it off with a hopeful shake of the head to Jo’s furrowing brow, telling her that he was going to wait just a little bit longer, that maybe Dick will show up and apologize for being so late.

Yeah. Maybe. But it was getting harder and harder to even pretend to believe that as the minutes steadily crept by, the clock hanging on the wall behind the bar mocking Gabriel with every tick.

Finally, at the hour-and-a-half mark, Gabriel’s shoulders had sunk down and his head had lowered in defeat.

Yeah. He had been stood up. The one night he had allowed himself to get all worked up over a potential date, and he had been stood up. Such was his astoundingly horrid luck.

So now here he was, abandoned and humiliated, sitting in front of Jo Harvelle’s sympathetic face, ignoring the pitying glances of customers, desperately trying in vain to hide the fact that he was wallowing in self-loathing and agony, and he was positive he wasn’t succeeding. Fucking perfect.

“Now that I think of it, maybe just get me the bottle, Jo,” Gabriel answered with a thin and empty smile.

Jo’s jaw muscle jumped and her eyes flitted sharply off to one side. “That guy is a fucking douche. A goddamn, good-for-nothing _asshole_. Dick. Psh. Title and a name all in one…”

Gabriel tuned out Jo’s furious rant, blew out a long sigh through his nostrils, and swallowed past the burn in his throat. He coated it with the sting of the remaining scotch in his glass, tossing back his drink rapidly.

Jo’s rant came to a halt at the sight of this. She huffed out a large breath, glancing down momentarily to grab the bottle of scotch.

“I’m sorry, Gabe,” she murmured sincerely.

Gabriel hummed, grabbing the bottle and refilling his glass. “Don’t be. It’s alright. Should have… Should have expected this, I s’ppose.”

Jo winced. “Don’t say that.” When all Gabriel did was take a tentative sip from his fresh drink, she sighed. “Gabriel, maybe this isn’t the best idea, staying out. You should go home.”

Gabriel shook his head. “Charlie is home. I am _definitely_ not in the mood to talk to her about this. And you—“ Gabriel pointed a warning finger at her “—are not going to tell her either.”

Jo shifted her weight onto the hand resting on the bar counter, her lips pursed into a grim line.

“I won’t tell her,” she said, “but she is going to find out. Whether it’s from you tonight or when she sees him during their next lecture together.”

Gabriel froze as he recalled that Dick and Charlie did indeed share a history course together, and he slumped forward even more. “Right. Yeah.”

Jo opened her mouth as if to say something more, but a call from the other end of the bar shifted her attention. She grimly smiled at Gabriel, who dipped his head in acknowledgement.

“Go, do your job,” Gabriel said, raising the bottle of scotch. “I’ve got my own company.”

Jo scoffed lightly. “Don’t overdo it, Gabe. Alright?”

She stuck around long enough to see Gabriel’s responding nod before walking away to tend to the other customers.

Left alone, Gabriel allowed himself to completely deflate into himself. He placed the bottle of scotch back onto the counter with a muted thud and sighed, lifting his glass to his mouth and teasing his lips with the rim.

“This seat taken?”

Gabriel nearly jumped in his seat, wrenched out of his self-pity by the voice beside him. He removed his lips from the glass and turned to face his new companion.

He was probably a little drunker than previously thought; there was absolutely no way that anyone’s eyes could be that luminous or _gorgeous_.

Gabriel felt his heartbeat falter in his chest and unconsciously turned his head to get a better view of the man before him. The warm light of the bar reflected a genuine rainbow in the man’s irises, leaving Gabriel unable to discern any true colors within them. The man’s dark-brown hair was a little long, curling around his ears and swept comfortably over his broad shoulders. He was clad in a blue flannel shirt, top two buttons left unfastened, and navy jeans that fitted nicely around outrageously long legs. A tiny, questioning smile tugged at corners of the man’s full and pink lips, a subtle hint of scruff surrounding his mouth and coating his jaw line.

Freaking _beautiful_.

Yet… he was also another man that Gabriel would have absolutely no chance with.

Gabriel swallowed back the fresh wave of bitterness that built up in his throat and he shrugged, turning to face the bar once more.

“Nah, it’s not taken,” he muttered, gesturing at the empty seat beside him. “Take a load off.”

“Thanks,” the man – Gabriel decided to dub him Moose – grinned, easily sliding into the barstool beside Gabriel.

Gabriel shrugged once more in response, raising his glass to his lips once more to take another sip and hide any hint of a reaction to Moose’s blinding smile. Moose cleared his throat, clasping his hands in front of him as he waited. Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel saw as Moose turned to face him.

“Hey,” Moose began, and Gabriel faced him again, a brow quirked. “Aren’t you… Don’t we share a psych class together?”

Gabriel’s quirked brow furrowed. There was no way that he wouldn’t have noticed this beautiful creature in his class. No freaking way.

“Umm, I don’t know,” he responded honestly, wracking his mind of the few glimpses he gets of his class. “I sit at the front, and – “

“Oh yeah, yeah, you are!” Moose said, pointing a finger at him. “Yeah, you do sit in the front, and you’re usually there before anyone else. You listen to music or something, and you’re always typing before class starts.”

Gabriel blinked, feeling a mixture of bewildered, impressed, and flattered at Moose’s keen observation skills. A slow, somewhat baffled smile stretched across his face and he huffed out a disbelieving laugh. Moose seemed to remember himself and he shrunk back from his excitement, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I’m not a stalker or anything,” Moose murmured, a faint blush coating his cheeks. “I just… I just noticed you, is all.”

Gabriel chuckled, a lush warmth that had nothing to do with the alcohol spreading through him as he placed his glass down on the counter. “No worries. You have a good memory,” he grinned. “Yeah, I usually get to class about a half-hour early. I work on homework sometimes, but I don’t listen to music.”

“Oh no?” Moose asked curiously. “Wear headphones just to prevent people from talking to you?”

Gabriel laughed, shaking his head. “That sounds like a better reason than the dorky truth. No, I… I watch video game play-throughs on YouTube.”

“You watch Let’s Plays?” Moose twisted around a little in his seat to face Gabriel better. “Who’s your favorite?”

Gabriel paused, gaping at the man before him who was progressively becoming more and more perfect by the second. He shifted in his own stool, fully facing Moose, and rested his elbow on the counter. “Mark and Jack, among others. Am I right in assuming you have favorites of your own then?”

“I do! The very same, in fact,” Moose agreed. “I’ve been watching Mark for about three years now, but I only recently started watching Jack after I saw a collab with him on Mark’s channel.”

“Ohhhh, a newbie!” Gabriel crowed, his enthusiasm growing. “Welcome!”

“Thanks,” Moose grinned.

“Did you catch their latest video together?” Gabriel asked, practically scooting forward in his stool in his interest.

Moose shook his head, slight regret expressed on his face. “Haven’t been able to watch much recently because of biochem and anatomy, sad to say.”

“Arghh, man, you are _missing out!_ ” Gabriel groaned, smirking as Moose’s smile grew. “Are you one of those weirdos that stay cooped up in the library, being a good and studious little student, while never seeing the light of day?”

“Yup, that’d be me,” Moose affirmed with a tiny wave. Gabriel gaped at him in horror.

“Well, it’s lucky that you formally met me when you did! Now we can work on fixing that,” Gabriel said with a flair of finality, bouncing his eyebrows.

Moose threw his head back and laughed, the rich rumble of his amusement resonating pleasantly in the bar. Moose glanced back at Gabriel and offered out his hand.

“I’m Sam. Sam Winchester,” Moose – _Sam_ – said.

Gabriel took Sam’s offered hand, shaking it firmly. “Gabriel Novak.”

Sam’s grin widened, letting go of Gabriel’s hand. “Y’know, besides class, I don’t really see you that much around campus. Much less in here.”

“Heh. Yeah, I don’t really make it that much of a habit to come here outside of visiting Jo,” Gabriel said, pointing over to where Jo was standing at the other end, casting a glance over at where Gabriel was sitting over the drink she was pouring. Jo tilted her head, visibly confused at Gabriel’s more relaxed demeanor. In reply, Gabriel lifted his glass and gave her a smile. Jo shrugged and turned back to her task, a smile of her own playing at her lips.

Gabriel turned back to Sam, who was pressing his mouth together in a tight line. “And Jo is like, is she your girlfriend?”

A huff of amused air left Gabriel’s nostrils and he shook his head.

“Psh, more like a _pain in the ass_ ,” he said, raising his voice at the tail end of the sentence for Jo to hear. Gabriel and Sam both laughed as Gabriel’s remark earned him an indiscreet finger gesture from Jo. “Nah, she’s as close to a sister as she can get to me. She also has a massive crush on my best friend, Charlie. Charlie is a girl, so… no. We are not together.”

“Well, alright then,” Sam chuckled, and Gabriel’s stomach managed to do a hopeful little flutter at the suggestion of relief in Sam’s voice, right before he tamped it down. “Other than that, though, you don’t come here very much.”

Gabriel raised a brow. “Is this one of the many observations you make about a person, while subtly not stalking them?”

Sam shrugged, looking just a little embarrassed. “Yeah, it is. I usually come in here with my older brother, sometimes to hang out, and sometimes to save him from being stranded without his keys. I don’t ever see you here.”

“Believe it or not, this used to be my kind of scene,” Gabriel admitted, glancing around the chattering bar. “Now… I dunno.”

Sam hummed in acknowledgement. “People’s tastes change. So why are you here tonight? Were you waiting on someone?”

Gabriel froze, slightly jarred by the reminder of his disastrous evening. He cleared his throat and ducked his head, nervously licking his lips as he struggled on what to say. Sam appeared to realize that he stepped on something bad, and began to stammer out an apology.

“Oh, I just – Sorry, that’s none of my—“

“No, no, it’s okay,” Gabriel dismissed. He cleared his throat once more and continued, “Uh, I _was_ waiting on someone. They… He didn’t show.”

Sam’s eyes widened minutely before his brows lowered in a frown. “Oh God. I’m sorry. Maybe they’re running late?”

“Yeah, well, he stopped being late when he let two hours go by without a single call,” Gabriel said dryly.

Sam’s frown deepened. “What a dick.”

Gabriel snorted, shaking his head at the irony. “You have no idea,” he muttered, gently spinning his glass on the bar counter. Sam was silent for a moment, just watching Gabriel’s fingers lightly play around with his scotch glass.

“Gabriel, I’m so sorry that—“

“Nah, don’t—“ Gabriel cut in, glancing up at Sam. “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have expected anything less, I suppose.”

“No,” Sam replied vehemently, and Gabriel’s eyes snapped up to meet Sam’s. He was taken aback at the genuine anger that sparked there and was rendered temporarily speechless as Sam continued, “You don’t deserve to have that happen to you, Gabriel.”

Gabriel swallowed. “Um, not that I don’t appreciate it, Sam, but… why do you care?”

“Because just within the last few minutes of talking to you, I can already tell that you’re not one to let go,” Sam answered, his low voice laced with sincerity and genuinity. “Because you came here for a date, and I am of the firm belief that you should get one. Because I noticed… no. I _notice_ … you.”

Gabriel’s grip on his glass went slack, staring in open shock at the man before him. Sam met his gaze evenly, though there was a growing look of panic in his eyes for every second that passed without Gabriel saying anything.

“Wait, you’re not saying…” Gabriel began, trailing off as he rapidly sifted through the conversation, and if Sam was indicating what Gabriel thought he was.

Sam nodded, a wide smile on his face and some of the fear dissipating from his features.

“Gabriel Novak, would you allow me to be your date for the evening?”

Words escaped Gabriel as he gaped at Sam, his throat trembling as he swallowed. Sam shifted nervously, his smile dimming into one of slight worry.

“You, um, you okay?” Sam asked, a tint of true concern bleeding through the question. “Gabriel?”

Gabriel blinked out of his stupor at this and glanced down at the bar counter, his heart sinking slowly. “Sam…” he said wearily. “You don’t have to take me out on a pity date, alright? Please don’t do that.”

“What, no!” Sam yelped, startled. “No, that’s not what this is, Gabriel, I swear! It’s not a pity date.”

“You said it yourself: I came here for a date. It fell through, and now I’m stuck here. So what else could this be?” Gabriel asked, turning to face Sam. He ignored the pulses of adrenaline shooting through his veins at the unexpected twist of their conversation; there was no way he stood a chance being with someone like Sam, and even if he did, he didn’t want the rest of his failed night to be spent as a charity case.

Sam licked his lips and quietly scooted forward on his stool, resting his elbow on the bar. He was silent for a moment, and Gabriel watched carefully as Sam’s smile returned to his face, gentle and small. When he spoke, his voice was soft, almost inaudible over the commotion of the bar.

“Can’t it be that I saw a gorgeous guy sitting at a bar, had a conversation with him, and thought ‘Man, I’d really love to get to know him more’?” Sam said, leaning forward a little. It was not enough to invade Gabriel’s personal space, but enough for Gabriel’s heart to skip circles in his chest and a warm blush to spread through his neck.

Gabriel cleared his throat and took in a laughing breath.

“Should have known you were too good to be true. Your vision’s defective,” Gabriel muttered.

Sam shook his head, his eyes sparkling with soothing mirth. “My vision’s just fine.”

Gabriel exhaled shortly, lips twitching.

Sam’s grin broadened before it dimmed down into something more serious, and Sam tilted his head as he considered Gabriel for a moment, his eyes set on the other man.

“This wouldn’t be a pity date, Gabriel,” Sam murmured. “I’m not offering myself as a consolation prize or as a replacement for your jackass of a date.” Gabriel huffed here, his thin smile stretching out a bit more. Sam brightened at the sight and continued, “I’m asking. I am really asking here if you’d like to go on a date with me tonight.”

Gabriel lips went slack and he swallowed thickly, just a faint aftertaste of the scotch he had been drinking present on his tongue. He wavered, caught between three choices. Go on a date with Sam, have it go amazing, only for it to end with Sam changing his mind? Go on a date with Sam, and have it go horribly bad? Or reject Sam and see him walk out the door of the bar? Either way, there was a one-hundred percent chance Gabriel was going to end up dejected and probably drinking all the liquor behind Jo’s bar.

But there was such _hope_ and a tinge of fear gleaming in Sam’s eyes, the kind of hope and fear that came with asking someone you liked out on a date, captivating Gabriel and drawing him in and _drowning_ him in opal pools, and Gabriel considered a fourth option. Go on a date with Sam, have it go amazing… and maybe find a chance at happiness?

The odds were marginally better with that option in mind, though they were still not in Gabriel’s favor from what he could see. They weren’t good odds. Then again… Gabriel was never one for good odds.

His heart throbbing frantically and his head whirling with equal parts terror and excitement, Gabriel straightened up slightly, tried at a smirk, and said, “Just letting you know, I don’t put out on the first date.”

Sam barked out a baffled laugh, shaking his head as a wave of happiness flashed across his face. Sam quirked his head off to the side, his lower lips jutted out in thought. “Good, I don’t want you to put out.”

“Oh? What’s wrong with me putting out?” Gabriel shot back playfully, completely astounded with himself at his sudden newfound level of boldness and how steady he was keeping his voice.

“Do you _want_ to put out?” Sam asked, raising a brow.

“No.”

“Good, I don’t want you to either.”

“Good.”

Gabriel, by this point, was smiling so wide at their banter that his cheeks were warm and starting to twitch from the exertion. Sam looked similar to how he felt, his grin blinding underneath the glow of the bar lights. Gabriel chuckled and shook his head over the silliness of it all and the frantic flutter of his heart.

“Just a date, Gabriel,” Sam assured. “It doesn’t have to be anything more than a good time spent at a restaurant or a walk in the park. It’ll… just be a first date.”

Nerves trembled through Gabriel’s blood, almost petrifying him, but he pressed his still-smiling lips together and nodded.

“Okay, Sam,” Gabriel murmured, unable to make his voice volume increase any higher than that. “I’ll go on a date with you.”

The hopeful spark inside of Sam’s eyes exploded into wave of gleaming happiness, and Sam exhaled out a relieved laugh.

“Great,” Sam breathed, a splitting grin on his face that revealed a wonderful pair of dimples. “Great!”

Gabriel couldn’t help but relax at the real joy within Sam’s expression, even with the storm of butterflies bumbling around in his stomach. Sam quickly drew back and stood from his stool, surprising Gabriel momentarily, before he gestured excitedly toward the entrance of the bar.

“Let’s go!” Sam exclaimed.

“Where are we going?” Gabriel asked curiously and a little confused, but he stood up from the chair regardless. He felt the tension in his buttocks and upper thighs finally loosen from having risen out of his seat.

“Figured we might go to this place I know a couple blocks down and get something to eat,” Sam shrugged. “I’d have our date here, but I imagine you’ve spent more than enough time sitting at this bar. Unless you’d like to—“

“No, no, leaving’s good! Ready to go when you are,” Gabriel quickly cut in, shaking his head at the latter offer. Sam was certainly right; he was more than ready to leave the bar behind at the moment, and he silently thanked Sam for his keen observation skills.

Sam chuckled and nodded, once again gesturing toward the door. “So, shall we?”

“We shall, just… one second?” Gabriel asked, glancing over to where Jo was approaching from the other end of the bar.

Sam nodded again, face crossed with understanding. Patiently, Sam clasped his hands in front of his waist and softly smiled, stepping back a bit to give Gabriel some privacy. Satisfied that Sam was really going to wait for him and feeling his appreciation towards the other man soar, Gabriel turned towards Jo, who was now leaning against the counter with a small crease between her brows.

“He’s not…?” Jo asked, glancing over to Sam.

Gabriel shook his head. “Nah, he’s not. I’ll be okay, Jo.”

Jo nodded. “I know you will, but be careful regardless, yeah? I don’t want to have to call Charlie if you happen to go missing.”

Gabriel chuckled and leaned forward to mutter, “Speaking of calling Charlie, don’t tell her about this either.”

“Fine, fine,” Jo laughed, waving over to Sam. “Now go on. Don’t want to keep your man waiting.”

Gabriel grinned and pushed himself away from the bar counter, giving Jo a tiny salute before sauntering back to where Sam was waiting.

“Okay,” Gabriel said, smiling nervously up at Sam and trying to quell the quivers wracking his frame. “Let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

_Okay, this was okay_ , Gabriel thought to himself as they silently continued their walk down the street. It was just like he said to Charlie; just one date to get to know the guy and put himself back out there in the dating life. If it didn’t work out, then it didn’t work out (but by _God_ , did Gabriel want this one to work out).

However, actually having Sam walk next to him, his arm occasionally brushing up against Gabriel’s and sending sparks of frantic warmth shooting through his veins, was more than a little nerve-wracking. Gabriel became excruciatingly aware of every movement he was making; his hands twitched restlessly at his sides, unsure as to whether they should swing at his sides or curl into fists inside his pockets, his tongue was heavy in his mouth, his nerve-endings tingled with cold fire, and his heart was stuttering wildly in his ribcage.

Gabriel’s head snapped up from where he was staring at the ground when he felt Sam’s arm nudge against his once more, this time deliberately. Sam was smiling warmly at him, but there was a question gleaming in his eyes.

“You alright?” he asked.

Gabriel huffed and shrugged, turning back to the sidewalk.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just…” Gabriel broke off into a sigh. “It’s been awhile since I’ve done this. Y’know, going on a date.”

Sam hummed thoughtfully beside him. “Yeah, same here.”

Gabriel looked back up at him, brows raised. “You’re bullshitting me. Have you seen yourself?”

“I’m not bullshitting,” Sam laughed. “Telling the God-honest truth. I haven’t been on a date since high school. I was always too focused on my studies and my dad was always moving us around because of his work, and that was definitely not a good combination for holding down a relationship.”

“Wow,” Gabriel said, grinning. “So you were always a studious little nerd.”

Sam chuckled, playfully bumping his elbow against Gabriel’s bicep in light retaliation. “Shut up.”

Gabriel grinned a little wider. “So you mentioned studying biochem and anatomy earlier? What are you even majoring in?”

“Biology/Pre-Med.”

Gabriel whistled, impressed. “Studious with the brains to show for it. So I should take to calling you ‘Doc’ in the future, huh?”

“Nah, Sam’s just fine,” Sam said, a light blush on his face. Gabriel internally crowed with victory at the sight.

Their candid conversation about their school interests stretched on for the remainder of their walk to the restaurant. By the time they arrived, basking in the glow of the restaurant sign coating the street, Gabriel was feeling much more relaxed. He smiled in recognition, noticing the restaurant was one he used to frequent before; at least he wouldn’t be floundering on his decision for what to eat. As they stepped into the restaurant, Gabriel shivered and sighed in delight at the rush of warmth sweeping past his face and the wonderful aroma of food cooking filling his nostrils.

“Come on, there’s an empty booth over there,” Sam said, pointing over by the far window.

Gabriel followed after him, glancing around the small restaurant. “I remember coming here a lot freshman year. It’s how I got my freshman fifteen. Good times!”

“I still come here all the time,” Sam smiled, sliding into the booth.

Gabriel settled in before him, taking off his coat and laid it over his thighs. He pouted, frowning at Sam and his clearly cut physique. “Rub it in, why don’t’cha?”

Sam laughed, shaking his head. “C’mon, you look great. You know what you’re going to order?”

Gabriel swallowed and smiled shakily, trying to control the way his heart leapt at the small compliment before he picked up the menu to have a glance.

“Yup!” he nodded, quickly looking over the appetizers and the drinks. “I like everything on the menu, but their bacon burger is something to _die_ for.”

Sam groaned, leaning back in his seat. “As much as I love a good burger, that monstrosity is way too greasy and filling for my taste buds and arteries to handle.”

Gabriel’s eyes flitted up to meet Sam’s, narrowing them playfully. “Well, at least now I know how you look as amazing as you do even after coming here all the time: you’re a _salad eater_.”

Sam smirked and nodded. “Yup, that’d be me.”

“Ughhh, studious, smart, and a health-nut,” Gabriel groaned, folding his menu and placing it back on the table. “I sure know how to pick them.”

“Hmm, pretty sure _I’m_ the one that did the picking here, and I, for one, am really liking my choices,” Sam said with a blinding smile.

Gabriel couldn’t help the flustered grin that yanked at his lips or the laughing breath that escaped him, and he ducked his head while his cheeks heated up with a fierce blush.

Soon enough, their waiter came over to take their orders, and soon after that their food was in front of them. True to form, Sam had order a Caesar salad with Italian dressing on the side, and Gabriel got a steaming bacon burger with a side order of French fries. Their conversation remained lighthearted and humorous, and Gabriel came to learn a lot about Sam.

He learned that Sam had an older brother named Dean, who owned a successful garage with their uncle back home.

“He has this beautiful black Chevy Impala,” Sam gushed, gathering up a respectable amount of lettuce on his plate before stabbing into it with his fork, “and he never lets me drive it. Friggin’ jerk.”

He learned that Sam had originally wanted to major in engineering, but discovered his passion for medicine when he volunteered at local hospitals for school.

“I can’t even pinpoint the moment I decided that being a doctor was what I wanted to be,” Sam said, a faraway and reminiscent gleam in his eye. “It just hit me one day, and it feels completely right.”

He learned that Sam broke his wrist playing soccer during high school.

“It was so stupid! I broke my damn _wrist_ , and I was benched. It’s not like I’m going to need my hand while playing!” Sam grinned as Gabriel laughed merrily at the story.

Gabriel revealed quite a bit about himself as well, such as how he was the seventh-born out of eleven children (Sam had choked on his chicken in his surprise, sending Gabriel into a fit of laughter), that he owned a mischievous little Corgi named Loki back home in Nashville, and—

“Oh, no fucking _way_!” Sam gaped, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You’re _GoldenTrickster_ on YouTube?”

Gabriel chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Yup. I started that channel a long time ago. For whatever reason I didn’t do anything on it then, when I actually _had_ the time, but I’m able to do it amidst all the deadlines and anxiety that is college.”

Sam laughed, still looking slightly awestruck by the revelation. “Man, I _knew_ I recognized your voice from somewhere. I’ve been a follower of yours for a while. You should add a facecam to your videos.”

“You kidding me?” Gabriel said, circling his face with his pointer finger. “I need to be saving these good looks for Hollywood. Can’t unveil the bride before the kiss happens.”

“I don’t think gamers generally make it to Hollywood like that,” Sam said, snickering at Gabriel’s analogy.

Gabriel just shrugged helplessly, a slack grin on his face at Sam’s amusement.

Those were only a fraction of the topics they covered over dinner and eventually dessert. As the end of their date drew near, their plates wiped clean of their contents and long gone when their waiter had picked them up, the conversation led to the most obvious topic of all.

“You know,” Sam began softly, raising his water to take a sip. “That dickbag? He has no idea what he’s missing.”

The events of earlier were still fresh in Gabriel’s mind, and he was a little shocked over the reminder of it. Surprisingly, though, the hurt that Dick Roman caused had dulled down significantly over the course of the night, and Gabriel just huffed.

“Hm, fries and an earful of my boring personal life?” he said wryly. He stirred his straw into his soda, the rapidly melting ice cubes nudging gently against it.

Sam took in a deep breath, smiling sadly. “I wish you would stop doing that.”

Gabriel frowned and looked up. “Doing what?”

“Making all of these self-deprecating comments, no matter how minor they are,” Sam answered. “You are so much more than what you say about yourself.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table surface and reaching to grab onto Gabriel’s free hand. Gabriel stiffened and snapped his eyes up toward Sam, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Sam smiled wider and continued.

“You’re a really amazing guy, Gabriel. I went on this date with you tonight, and I can say with complete honesty that it has been one of the best dates I’ve ever been on. You’re so interesting, funny as hell… and as I said before, you’re gorgeous. You were stood up tonight and I’m telling you, that guy really missed out on someone great.”

Gabriel was still, his jaw slightly ajar and his eyes wide. Sam’s words were completely unexpected, and they sent a lightning bolt of emotion pulsing through his heart. He tightened his hand around Sam’s and bowed his head, blinking hard as he fought to maintain composure.

“Jeez, Samster,” Gabriel rasped. He cleared his throat and chuckled dryly. “You can’t just _say_ things like that. I was pretty adamant about not putting out tonight.”

Sam laughed, turning his hand palm-up and linking his fingers with Gabriel’s. “I didn’t say those things to get into your pants, Gabriel. I said them because they’re true.”

Gabriel smiled and squeezed Sam’s hand in lieu of an unspoken ‘thank you,’ unable to find the words. Sam squeezed back.

At that moment, Gabriel glanced over at his watch and sighed. “It’s late.”

“Time to go?”

“Yeah, I have the morning shift tomorrow at work,” Gabriel replied, no little amount of remorse in his voice. “I, uh, I need to get back if I’m going to get a decent amount of sleep in beforehand.”

Sam gently slipped his hand out of Gabriel’s and straightened up in his seat. “How far away is your dorm?”

“Apartment, actually, and it’s not that far,” Gabriel said. “It’s down the street from the bar. I walked from there earlier.”

“How about I walk you home?” Sam offered.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t know about you, Gabriel, but I’m not too keen on ending the date just yet,” Sam said.

Gabriel snorted, shaking his head. “Yeah. Me neither.” He tapped his fingers on the table surface, grinning. “Okay. We can stretch it out a little while longer.”

“Great!” Sam beamed, standing up and taking out his wallet.

“Oh hell no, you’re not paying for tonight,” Gabriel argued, standing up as well and placing his hand over Sam’s as he pulled out a twenty. “Seriously, you don’t have to. I can—“

“Gabe, I took you out tonight. I’ll pay,” Sam said. His hazel-green eyes sparkled in amusement. “Should we do this again, we can work out who pays when, deal?”

Gabriel swallowed thickly, his throat trembling with the excited anticipation of there being a next time, and he finally nodded and removed his hand. “Alright, deal. But I pay the tip.”

“Works for me,” Sam agreed, and walked over to the register to pay.

Gabriel sighed and grabbed his jacket from where it had fallen on the seat. Quickly shrugging it on, he took out his own wallet and pulled out the appropriate amount of singles for the waiter’s tip, tossing them neatly on the table.

Moments later, Sam returned. His expression was smiling, but there was an edge of resignation at the corners of his lips. “Ready to go?”

“Not really,” Gabriel replied honestly, surprising himself.

Sam briefly froze at the statement before his smile widened, and he nodded over toward the door. Gabriel silently followed suit, and the pair of them walked out of the warm restaurant and into the night.

“Jeez, I forgot how amazing that food was!” Gabriel groaned, placing a hand on his stomach. “Why did I ever stop going?”

Sam chuckled, glancing over at Gabriel. “Not sure, but I gather you’re going to start going back?”

“Inevitable weight gain, be damned!” Gabriel laughed. “Talk about a foodgasm. I’m kinda sad that I’m going to work it all off tomorrow.”

“You said you were as a stock-boy at the grocery store, right?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, mornings usually. I’m the guy that operates the forklifts and machines to move those pallets chock-full of food, and then unload it all. Makes for a very sore day afterwards,” Gabriel said, but there was no trace of bitterness in his voice.

Sam hummed. “Maybe, if we ever do this again… I could give you a shoulder massage?”

Gabriel blinked, gaping up at Sam with a flushed smile. “Seriously, Sam, I might just keep you.”

Sam laughed.

As they walked down the street and joked around with one another, their hands had drifted toward one another. Gently, slowly, their fingers linked and held on, a soothing touch between the two.

By the time Gabriel had noticed he was holding Sam’s hand, they were in front of the bar. He stiffened slightly, feeling more than a little shocked at his unconscious response towards Sam. This was different than what had happened in the restaurant; back there, it had been about comfort and support, but here… This felt more intimate.

Fingers slack, Gabriel paused for a moment, eyes flitting at their joined hands. A few steadying breaths, and then Gabriel allowed himself just relish in the touch Sam provided. He tightened his fingers. Sam gave a small squeeze back, his grin widening as he continued his story.

After what seemed like no time at all, they were standing at the entrance of Gabriel’s apartment. Gabriel sighed and swung his arm lightly, firmly giving Sam’s hand another squeeze before reluctantly letting him go. “This is me.”

“Okay,” Sam said. He turned toward Gabriel, his face glowing with affection. Gabriel’s lips quirked back into a shy smile and he huffed out a breath.

“I had a really amazing time tonight, Sam,” Gabriel murmured. “Thank you.”

“Pleasure was all mine, Gabriel,” Sam replied, stepping forward. “Y’know, I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted to do this again. Maybe the next time we’re both free…?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Gabriel answered, his breath softly hitching at the increasing closeness of Sam’s proximity. “I’ll let you know.”

Sam beamed, and Gabriel realized with a jolt that Sam was nearly pressed up against him, head bowed slightly to stare down at Gabriel past hooded eyes. Gabriel’s breath caught in his throat and his heart stuttered in his chest, his eyes flitting between Sam’s smoldering gaze and Sam’s lips, which seemed to be getting closer and closer, close enough to feel Sam’s warm breath on his mouth…

Gabriel slowly raised a hand up and placed it on Sam’s chest. He blew out a quivering breath and ducked his head, closing his eyes. “Sorry, I just… I’ll see you in psych?”

Gabriel reopened his eyes at the hand that was suddenly cupping his jaw, lifting his face up. Sam was no longer crowding his personal space, backed up at a respectable distance as he smiled down at Gabriel. Iridescent colors in Sam’s irises glimmered happily underneath the moonlight, and Gabriel couldn’t help but smile back even at the dulled disappointment he felt in himself.

“Yeah,” Sam whispered, trailing his thumb up to gently caress Gabriel’s cheek. “See you in psych.”

“Okay,” Gabriel breathed, cheeks warming. He stepped back toward the doorway of his building, his hand brushing down Sam’s chest as it dropped it, and Sam’s hand slowly fell from his face. “Good night, Sam.”

“Good night, Gabe.”

Gabriel held Sam’s eyes until the absolute last moment, when he finally opened the building’s entrance and stepped inside. He gave Sam a tiny parting wave, catching Sam returning the sentiment before he closed the door. Gabriel released a long exhale and walked toward his room, an aching grin on his face.

He was tingling with warmth and his heart was pounding excitably in his chest, practically galloping within his ribcage and making him feel as though he were gliding through the hallway toward his apartment. He fought back the urge to bury his face in his hands and squeal like a giddy teenage girl over a crush.

God. How did his night, which had begun so horribly, end on such a blissful note? How on Earth was he getting this lucky? He had just gone on a date with Sam Winchester. Sam Winchester! And it had gone well!

His mind was still whirling with dizzying happiness as he unlocked his door and walked inside his shared apartment. Slowly, he leaned his back against the door until it closed and sighed, tilting his head back to bump gently against the wooden surface.

“Hey! Oh my God, you’re back!”

Gabriel opened his eyes. Charlie was sitting at the island in the kitchen, munching on some cookies with her laptop open in front of her to a Harry Potter site. She quickly twisted around in her seat to face him, a wide grin practically splitting across her face.

“So? Come on! Give me all the dirty deets! How was it?!” she asked.

Gabriel smirked loosely, sighing out his answer. “It was amazing.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hardcore SAP and FLUFF in this chapter. Fair warning.

The weekend passed by in a blur.

After relaying a brief synopsis of Friday night’s events to Charlie – his best friend had erupted in an explosion of rage after learning of what Dick Roman had done, muttering dark promises under her breath of how Dick wasn’t going to even be able to access his school documents once she was finished hacking him – Gabriel had fallen into his bed, hands pressed over his eyes and a large grin on his face. It had taken a while before the warm electricity coursing through his body from his date with Sam settled down, but it had, and he sunk into a pleasant slumber.

However, with the morning came work, and after work there was more to be done; his psychology midterm was due Sunday night, and he had an essay to revise before next weekend for his general education literature course, and he needed to study for his biology exam.

So when Monday morning finally came and Gabriel strolled into his psychology classroom, the first one to arrive as always, he was struck with the memory that _Sam_ was in this class too. Gabriel felt the smile return to his face as his body shuddered with a cool wave of elation, and he walked over to his usual seat at the front of the classroom, getting himself settled in.

Slipping his headphones into his ears, he opened up the latest playthrough he had been watching and resumed it. He didn’t have any pending homework assignments for the time being, so he just browsed the internet. Minutes ticked by steadily, and students began to trickle into the classroom it got closer for the lecture to begin. Gabriel was just scrolling through his social media feed, skimming through his cousin’s exasperated rant toward some unnamed person, when someone slid into the seat beside him.

Gabriel jumped, surprised; he hardly ever had anyone sit next to him at the front of the class. Turning to face his companion, his heart paused for a second before restarting with a hard jolt.

Sam’s wide grin greeted him. Carefully, Gabriel reached up to remove his headphones and smiled back.

“Hi,” was all Gabriel’s mouth supplied him with.

“Hey!” Sam nodded over to Gabriel’s open computer. “Playthroughs?”

“You already know,” Gabriel laughed, placing his headphones on his keyboard. He twisted around in his seat to better face Sam. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about our to-be-determined date in which I show you exactly what you’re missing in terms of good quality YouTube entertainment.”

Sam laughed. “Trust me, I haven’t forgotten. In fact, I’m quite looking forward to another date with you, as you well know.”

Gabriel felt his cheeks tinge with a blush. “Same here. But you know… I don’t put out on the second date either.”

“Damnit,” Sam huffed, clicking his tongue with a wide grin. “There goes the second half of the date.”

Gabriel snickered, his stomach and chest constricting warmly at Sam’s words, pleasant tingles of electricity zipping through his veins at the low purr underlying Sam’s voice. “Mm, be patient with me a little while longer. Who knows? Play your cards right, you might get lucky sooner than you think.”

Sam was still smiling at him, but it softened considerably as his expression became a little more serious, and Sam gently reached out to place his hand on top of Gabriel’s.

“I know we’re just engaging in playful banter right now, but I do just want to let you know that you don’t have to rush this,” Sam murmured, keeping his voice quiet; the rest of the class had already arrived, and the low buzz of conversation was just enough to hide their conversation away from unwanted ears. “I am perfectly fine with taking this at your pace. If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready. If you’re never ready for anything more than this, then that’s okay too. I’m more concerned about you being comfortable around me than anything else. Okay?”

Gabriel blinked and slowly released a long breath. He didn’t really realize it, but Sam’s words had caused a hidden tension that had accumulated inside his body to gradually bleed out of his muscles, relaxing him and comforting him beyond words. Overwhelming gratitude for the boy in front of him flooded through him, and Gabriel nodded.

“Thank you, Sam,” Gabriel whispered.

Sam smiled, giving Gabriel’s hand a squeeze before letting go.

“You don’t have to thank me for that ever, Gabe,” Sam replied. “Buuuut, if you want to thank me… How about we go and get some coffee after class? It’ll be my treat.”

“Your treat, my ass,” Gabriel huffed, shoving at Sam’s arm. “You paid for dinner already. _I’m_ buying this time.”

Sam grinned. “Nice to know you aren’t taking advantage of my wallet.”

“Nope, just your vibrant good looks,” Gabriel fired back with a wink, sending Sam into a silent fit of laughter. “I’d love to get coffee afterwards.”

“Great,” Sam grinned.

At that moment, their psychology professor entered the classroom, and nothing more was said between Sam and Gabriel as the lecture began. But that didn’t stop Gabriel from sending occasional shy glances and smiles over to Sam, and feeling his heart flutter when he caught Sam doing the same out of the corner of his eye.

::

Before Gabriel knew it, a month had passed by.

A month of meeting up with Sam for coffee and lunch between classes. A month of getting to know more about Sam over dinner on the weekend, and gaping openly at the illuminating smile that sparkled underneath the moonlight as they walked in the direction of the campus apartments. A month of cuddling on Gabriel’s couch as Gabriel caught Sam up on some of his more favorite episodes of Mark and Jack’s channels, his hand comfortably clasped in Sam’s and his thumb stroking the row of Sam’s knuckles.

A month of Gabriel feeling himself falling deeper and deeper into the blossoming relationship he had with Sam, and noticing it swell up and become something so much more tender and precious… and terrifying.

So terrifying, in fact –

“ _What_? Are you kidding me? How have you – is that even _possible_? How have you not kissed him already?!”

Gabriel sighed, sticking his blow pop back into his mouth and swirling his tongue around the cherry candy thoughtfully. Charlie clapped her hands down on her thighs in exasperation at his near nonchalant demeanor. Gabriel huffed, glancing over to her.

“See, this is why I sometimes don’t tell you things,” Gabriel accused, taking the candy out of his mouth and pointing it at Charlie. “You meddle. You’re a meddler.”

Charlie sent him a bitchface.

“You and Sam have pretty much made permanent residence on the couch, and you’re telling me that it hasn’t amounted to anything past handholding? You haven’t even kissed the guy? After a _month_?”

Gabriel shrugged. “We’ve actually progressed on to spooning. Or jet packing. Is it jet packing? Well, either way, I love me a man that doesn’t mind being the little spoon every once in awhile. Does that make you feel any better?”

“It really doesn’t.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m just taking things slow this time around.”

“This isn’t slow, Gabriel, this is snail’s pace,” Charlie said. She walked over to where Gabriel was sitting at the island, plopping down into the free stool beside him. “Gabe, seriously though… What’s the holdup?”

Gabriel sighed, shoving the blow pop back into his mouth and going silent. He wasn’t about to lie to Charlie; the girl had been his best friend since day one, and had stuck by his side through all the shit he had gone through. But that didn’t mean that he was all too ready to admit what he was struggling with.

Nonetheless, he cleared his throat and began.

“It’s stupid,” Gabriel mumbled past the candy. “I mean… It’s stupid, right? Sam’s a really great guy. A really amazing and sweet and funny and drop-dead _gorgeous_ guy. He’s perfect… And I’m over here just constantly wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. When Sam is going to finally open his eyes and realize that he can do so much better than me.”

Charlie’s face fell. “Gabriel…”

“If I don’t kiss him,” Gabriel cut in, glancing up to meet Charlie’s eyes, “then maybe, maybe I can delude myself further down the line that Sam and I were just really close friends. Close friends who held hands and spooned and… maybe almost shared a kiss. Whatever. If I don’t kiss him, the slate stays clean between us when Sam decides that I’m not worth sticking around for. If I don’t kiss him, it’s not as final. There wouldn’t be any hard feelings.”

Charlie clicked her tongue. “Well, you’re right about one thing: it’s stupid. And by it, I mean you. You’re being stupid.”

Gabriel frowned, taking the blow pop out of his mouth as he got ready to retort, but a firm look from Charlie kept him silent.

“Nope, I’m talking, and you’re done spewing nonsense,” Charlie said, raising her eyes in a challenge. When Gabriel remained quiet, she continued. “I say again, you’re being stupid. You’re making decisions _for_ Sam right now, and they are extremely stupid and unwarranted decisions that make no sense. You’re not even taking into consideration that Sam thinks you’re perfect for him too, and that he’s found the one he wants to be with in you.”

“It’s only been a month,” Gabriel muttered.

“The amount of time spent together in the beginning hardly means anything if they’re the one,” Charlie said, grinning hopefully at Gabriel. “Sam is the one for you, Gabriel. I know you see it, even if right now you’re being a blind moron—“

Gabriel snorted at the remark.

“—and Sam sees that you’re the one for him. And it’s not just you two that see that: Jo and I see it too. I see it every time Sam comes over for movies, how you are around each other. Jo keeps a close eye on the two of you when you go to the bar, and the way she talks about how Sam is around you, and how Sam looks at you and talks to you? That’s soulmate stuff right there. Like, Harry-and-Hermione-type soulmates, and I remain firm on the fact that those two were the ones for each other despite—“

“Charles,” Gabriel interrupted with a fond smile, cutting through what was about to turn into a venting tirade of the mismatched couples of Harry Potter.

Thankfully, Charlie’s expression settled back down into a smile, and she reached out and gently pushed at Gabriel’s shoulder.

“The point is, Gabriel, that you and Sam are disgusting,” Charlie said.

Gabriel laughed and twirled the stick of his blow pop.

“Seriously. You’re gross and sickening, and you should totally share gross and sickening kisses with that boy,” Charlie said, standing up from her stool. “Kiss him, and don’t think stupid, idiotic thoughts about how he’s suddenly going to ‘wise up’ and realize that he does not want you. Because believe me, Gabriel, he does.”

Gabriel heaved out a breath and ducked his head, smiling shakily at the counter.

“Now, I’m leaving for Jo’s,” Charlie announced. “Sam’s coming over tonight, right? Think you two can behave without a chaperone?”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine and we won’t trash the place. Oh, and speaking of people being disgusting, did you confess your feelings to Jo yet?” Gabriel asked, looking up at Charlie. When he was met with a nervous licking of the lips and averting eyes, Gabriel’s jaw dropped open. “Oh my God, you _did_.”

“Shut up,” Charlie mumbled, her face nearly going as red as her hair.

“Oh my God!” Gabriel cackled, spinning around in his stool and clapping his hands once. “Is that what you’re going to do right now? Go to her place and share gross and sickening kisses with Jo?”

“You’re a dick,” Charlie said, flipping Gabriel off as she walked over to the door.

“I love you too, Charles,” he called over his shoulder.

“Kiss the boy!” Charlie replied, and then she was gone with a click of the door.

Now alone in the apartment, Sam’s arrival looming in the near future, Gabriel took in a deep breath and slowly released it. He twirled the blow pop again, eyeing the clock on the stove. Sam would be over for another movie night in about an hour. That left him with enough time to at least shower and tidy up a bit before Sam arrived. Huffing out another sigh, swallowing down the nerves that threaten to combust him, Gabriel slipped out of his stool and headed over to his bedroom.

By the time he had finished up, Sam was due to show up any moment. Gabriel fidgeted in the living room, clenching and flexing his fingers. This wasn’t the first time they’d be alone in Gabriel’s apartment, but with the weight of what he talked to Charlie about earlier, Gabriel was more than a little nerve-wracked.

A knock on the door cut through the silence and caused Gabriel to jump, wrenching him from worrying thoughts. Quickly, he made his way over to the door and opened it. In spite of his nerves, Gabriel grinned as he saw Sam standing there, hands in his pockets with a smile of his own stretched across his face.

“Hey!” Sam greeted, walking in after Gabriel stepped aside. “Charlie not here today?”

“Did you hear her calling you a bitch as you walked in?” Gabriel chuckled, closing the door.

“Nope.”

“Then she’s not here today.”

Sam laughed, turning around to face Gabriel. “Ah, so we’ve got the whole place to ourselves, eh?”

“Yup, no one except me will witness the great Sam Winchester bawl his eyes out after the ending of the Titanic,” Gabriel joked, stepping around Sam to head into the living room.

“That was one time!” Sam cried.

Gabriel shook with barely restrained laughter as he ducked down to fetch the remote, flipping on the television to Netflix. “Oh yeah? One time, huh? What about Old Yeller?”

“… You know what, you’re rude for bringing that up. And you cried too!”

“I told you, something flew in my eye!”

“Yeah, it’s called emotion!”

Gabriel giggled and walked back, heavily plopping down on the couch. He selected a comedy movie from the array of different films on his Netflix. The couch jostled a little as Sam sat down beside him, wrapping his arm around Gabriel and drawing him close. Lately, it would have usually felt so natural to just sink into Sam’s embrace and rest against Sam’s shoulder as Gabriel curled up against his side. Now, however, it felt as though they were on that first date again; Gabriel’s heart was throbbing with heat, and his hands struggled with where they should rest around Sam’s body, and his tongue felt dry and thick in his mouth.

The movie passed by in silence, save for the bursts of laughter that escaped Sam underneath Gabriel’s ear. The film was definitely funny enough, but Gabriel couldn’t muster anything more than an amused hum to go along with Sam’s humor.

Eventually, Sam took notice of Gabriel’s distance and reached his hand up to slide into Gabriel’s hair, carefully tugging on the strands to capture his attention.

“Hey,” Sam murmured.

Gabriel rolled his head against Sam’s chest, a loose smile on his face. Sam grinned back down at him, but there were questions gleaming in his eyes.

“You okay? You’re kind of quiet tonight,” Sam said, his other hand moving up to stroke a finger along Gabriel’s cheek.

Gabriel sighed, forcing as much of the newfound anxiety to the back of his mind as he possibly could. He took Sam’s hand in his own, squeezing it reassuringly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Gabriel answered. “Just… Just thinking.”

“Are you feeling uncomfortable right now? I can scoot over to the other end of the couch if you want.”

Gabriel shook his head. “No, I’m okay. Really. I like having you here. I just… I’m just thinking.”

Sam was quiet for a moment, and then Gabriel saw Sam’s hand drop down to his lap to pick up the fallen remote. Sam pressed pause on the movie and gently adjusted their positions so that he was looking down at Gabriel.

“You want to talk about it?” Sam asked, running a soothing arm up and down Gabriel’s arm.

Gabriel pressed his lips together, fully intending on parting them and saying no. But a mute breath left his mouth instead and all he could do was gape at Sam.

Sam’s forehead creased in worry and he straightened up a little, his brows furrowing. “Gabe? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do,” Gabriel said suddenly, and he was surprised to discover that he really did want to talk to Sam about this. “I do want to talk to you. Actually, I’m pretty sure I _have_ to talk to you about this, so… yeah, I need to talk to you.”

Sam’s frowned deepened but he nodded all the same. “Okay. So talk to me.”

Gabriel took in a shaky inhale, carefully licking his lips as he struggled on where to start. Slowly, he met Sam’s eyes, taking in the warm glow of hazel and green and gold staring back at him with such tender concern, and he found his voice.

“There was someone else,” he whispered, and he felt his mind slowly tip into the well of memories. “Before I met you, about a year or so ago… There was someone else.”

To Gabriel’s numbed surprise, Sam didn’t pull away and the concern in his eyes didn’t morph into indignation; Sam merely softened and held him a little closer, watching and visibly listening with rapt attention. Gabriel sharply exhaled.

“Her name was Kali, and… At the time I was dating her, I thought she was the love of my life,” he said lowly, running a hand through his hair. “We’d been together since our sophomore year of high school and we even got into the same university, so I thought we’d be together forever, y’know? She was ‘the one’ for me.”

Gabriel stopped here for a moment, his mind clouding cover with the dulled ache of the memory he was about to relive.

“I was with her for almost four years,” he rasped past a suddenly thick and aching throat. Hastily, he cleared it, swallowing hard. “Then one day… she came up to my room after I was done with classes, and she told me that she was pregnant.”

Sam took in a quiet rush of breath at this news. Gabriel blinked hard and smiled grimly, flitting his gaze away from Sam’s eyes.

“She tried to tell me that it was mine, but I knew that it wasn’t. We both were always so busy with school and work and family when we got into college, and we didn’t really have a lot of time to spend together. When we did, I _always_ wore a condom, and the last time we had sex was maybe six months beforehand. I know it was because it was our anniversary.”

Gabriel blinked hard once more, gnawing on his bottom lip.

“We got into a fight. A really, really bad fight. It ended when she finally admitted that she had cheated on me, that she’d _been_ cheating on me since the second semester of our freshmen year.”

Sam released a long breath, his hand a light touch on Gabriel’s back. “Gabriel… I am so sorry.”

Gabriel sniffed and smiled a little more tightly, returning his gaze towards Sam. Quickly, he swiped a hand over his eyes as tears threatened to cascade down his cheeks, and he sniffed and cleared his throat. “Nah, don’t be. You shouldn’t be. She just… she’s in the past now.”

“She was really important to you, Gabe,” Sam murmured sympathetically, gently cupping Gabriel’s cheek in hand and wiping away the fallen tears with a thumb. “She was your first, and you thought you’d be together forever. It’s okay to still be hurt over that.”

Gabriel sucked in a tiny, wet gasp. He licked his lips, tasting the salt of his tears.

“She-she _was_ important to me, yeah,” Gabriel admitted, voice thick and wavering. “But, but it’s like I said, she’s in the past now. And I just – I just wanted to let you know because… because…”

“Because why?” Sam asked, frowning.

“Because I haven’t kissed you yet,” Gabriel whispered. “I haven’t kissed you yet, and-and I really want to. _God_ , Sam, you really have no idea how badly I want to, but I’m _scared_. I’m scared that Kali messed me up too badly to be able to appreciate you fully, and I’m scared that you’re going to wake up one day and realize that I’m not worth all of this, and I just, I just—“

“Hey,” Sam breathed.

Quickly yet carefully, Sam shifted them both around until Gabriel was loosely straddling his lap. Gabriel loudly inhaled and sniffed, clutching at Sam’s shoulders desperately. Wrapping a secure arm around Gabriel’s waist, Sam cradled the back of Gabriel’s head, tenderly caressing through the strands of Gabriel’s hair.

“Hey,” Sam repeated softly, leaning up to press his brow against Gabriel’s, rubbing Gabriel’s back soothingly. “Listen to me, Gabe. Listen to me.”

Gabriel heaved in a quivering breath and met Sam’s eyes. Sam swallowed thickly, his own eyes misting over slightly in the face of Gabriel’s distress.

“Don’t think like that,” Sam murmured. “Please don’t think like that. What Kali did to you was horrible and cruel, and I am so sorry that you had to go through that.”

Sam slid his hand down to cup around Gabriel’s jaw, lovingly stroking a thumb along Gabriel’s flushed cheek. Gabriel swallowed and sunk deeply into the touch.

“Maybe I was meant to,” Gabriel said. “Maybe I was always meant to. Kali left me for someone else, probably had his baby by now, so clearly she had no regard for our relationship and didn’t think we were worth it to not cheat. And that guy I was supposed to go on a blind date with, the night that we met? He didn’t think I was worth even showing up for. So maybe there’s something that I did that—“

“Maybe they are the ones that have something wrong with them,” Sam cut in, firmly keeping his gaze locked on Gabriel’s. “Maybe… No. They’re _definitely_ the idiots that couldn’t see the amazing and wonderful person that was right in front of their faces. They’re the ones that are suffering a loss, Gabriel, because they lost you. They had you, and they lost you. That is on them. Not you.”

Gabriel bit down on his lip to keep it from quivering. “And what about you?” he mumbled.

“I’m here,” Sam said, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “I’m here, right now, with you. And I want to stay here. I want to be with you. I’ve been with you a month, and I already want a lifetime more of the memories we’ve made. I’m not going to wake up one day and think you aren’t what I want, because you _are_. You’re everything I could possibly want and need, Gabriel. I’m here.”

Gabriel blinked rapidly, sniffing wetly at the stray tears that fell. His chest felt constricted with warm pressure, alleviated by Sam’s sincere words. He trembled and reached up to cradle Sam’s face between his palms, pushing himself a little closer to Sam’s forehead and closing his eyes.

“Even if I haven’t kissed you yet?” Gabriel hissed.

“Even if you haven’t kissed me yet,” Sam affirmed with a smile. “I told you before that we’re going to take this at your pace, Gabriel. You are absolutely worth waiting for, and whenever you’re ready, I’ll be more than happy to kiss you.”

Gabriel let out a sobbing breath and leaned even closer to Sam, chests and noses pressed together tight and Gabriel’s fingers practically digging into Sam’s cheeks. Their breaths mingled between their mouths, puffing warm streams of air over each other’s lips, and Gabriel muttered, “What if I want to kiss you right now?”

“Whenever you’re ready, Gabe,” Sam repeated, resting a hand on the small of Gabriel’s back. “Whenever you want, I’ll be more than happy to kiss you.”

Gabriel opened his eyes. Sam was still smiling at him, and it was soft, gentle, and understanding. His hands were tender on Gabriel’s cheek and on his back, holding him close. His eyes glimmered under the light, hazel orbs shining with waves of sincerity and truth and adoration for Gabriel.

All for _Gabriel_.

At that moment, the thick web of doubt and fear that had been wrangling Gabriel’s heart for the past month slowly began to burn away, replaced with cautious hope and devotion and so, _so_ much gratitude and endearment towards the man in front of him.

So Gabriel made a decision, and by God, it felt completely right. He leaned down a little further, just until his lips were grazing against Sam’s with uneven breaths, and he whispered, “Sam?”

“Mmhm?” Sam hummed, his eyes half-closed and overtaken with a sheen of bliss. A quiet breath of nervous laughter blew past Gabriel’s lips.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

Sam’s eyes shined and he smiled. “I will definitely kiss you back.”

Gabriel smiled and then let out a long, calming breath. He pulled back the slightest bit, his eyes flitting down toward Sam’s lips, watching as they parted slightly and shook with every breath Sam gave, velvet soft and drawing Gabriel in with tender temptation.

Gabriel’s heart surged up in his throat, excitement and adrenaline pumping hot in his blood. He leaned in that last bit of space between their mouths and kissed Sam.

Their first kiss tasted like salty tears, sparks, and something Gabriel could only label as _Sam_. It also tasted faintly of mocha, Sam’s favorite flavor of coffee.

It was intoxicating.

A whimper echoed from Gabriel’s throat and he moved in for more, tightening his thighs around Sam’s legs and scooting up further. Sam groaned quietly, kissing Gabriel back just as he had said he would, his lips sliding against Gabriel’s with chaste and steady movements. The hand Sam was resting on Gabriel’s back moved up, clasping loosely around the back of Gabriel’s neck while his other hand on Gabriel’s jaw gently tilted his head to the side, slotting their mouths together more comfortably.

Gabriel shivered and hesitantly licked a stripe across Sam’s bottom lip, growing more and more wanton for a deeper taste. Sam immediately parted his lips and invited Gabriel in, his tongue circling and rubbing around Gabriel’s languidly. Gabriel keened and firmly lunged forward, deepening the kiss even further, and he gasped into Sam’s mouth as his hands frantically slid into the unruly locks of Sam’s hair. Sam moaned and met Gabriel’s fervor tenfold, gently sucking Gabriel’s bottom lip into his mouth.

It was a while before they finally separated with a hissed gasp, breathless and trembling with the minor shockwave they just experienced. They didn’t move far from each other; Gabriel’s fingers were still curled into Sam’s hair, Sam’s hands were bunched into the collar of Gabriel’s shirt and cupped around the back of his neck, and their grinning lips were brushing against each other with every heave of their chests between them. Gabriel panted out a laugh, bumping his nose against Sam’s.

“Wow,” he breathed, practically vibrating with the waves of giddiness and elation crashing through him. “Just… Wow.”

Sam chuckled, leaning up to press another tiny kiss to Gabriel’s lips as he beamed up at him. “Took the word right out of my mouth.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, I missed my weekly update! 
> 
> Have some Sabriel smut as an apology from me ;)

“How are you even real?” Gabriel murmured, smiling as he ran his hand lovingly through Sam’s hair. He still felt a little light-headed from the afterglow of their first kiss, and by the look of sensual euphoria in Sam’s expression, he was feeling the exact same way.

Sam hummed in contentment and his eyes fluttered briefly at the contact, pushing himself more into Gabriel’s touch. “Well, if I wasn’t, this would make for an incredible awkward conversation.”

“You mean kind of like the one we just had?” Gabriel remarked wryly.

“Hm, I think it was a conversation that we needed to have,” Sam said.

Gabriel nodded his assent, though it didn’t necessarily stop the small burst of light embarrassment that had welled up inside his chest from his minor, teary outburst. Gabriel leaned up to nuzzle his face into Sam’s hair, sighing as he pressed a quick kiss to Sam’s forehead.

“I really am sorry that it took me such a long time to do this,” Gabriel muttered.

Gabriel could feel Sam start to shake his head against his mouth, even as Sam shifted him down so that they were once again at eye-level. Sam’s eyes sparkled with tenderness and devotion, and Sam shook his head more visibly this time.

“Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry for this,” Sam said. He gave Gabriel’s chin an affectionate nudge with the length of his finger. “Your pace is my pace. I wasn’t going to be ready to anything more unless you were, and that still holds true, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

Gabriel didn’t hesitate this time when he kissed Sam. He captured Sam’s lips firm and true, a wisp of a moan leaving him. Sam’s mouth lifted slightly into a smile before he kissed Gabriel back, wrapping his arms securely around Gabriel’s waist and hugging him close.

Feeling Sam’s warmth encase him, the electricity of his kiss sending sparks throughout Gabriel’s body, Gabriel shivered in blissful delight. He grinned, forcing their lips to momentarily separate. Gabriel wasted no time in kissing Sam again. And again. And again.

“Hmm, you remember how I said I didn’t put out on the first date?” Gabriel whispered between soft pecks.

“Mmhm,” Sam acknowledgement, fingers diving into Gabriel’s hair and tugging him into a deep kiss.

Gabriel moaned and slipped his tongue inside of Sam’s mouth, sliding it filthily across the roof of Sam’s mouth and against Sam’s own tongue. As they kissed, a lustful heat began to brew steadily in the depths of Gabriel’s abdomen. Gabriel grunted as the heat traveled even further down, trembling once more as his erection began to strain against the confines of his jeans, prodding lightly into the inside of Sam’s thigh. Sam’s hands slid down from Gabriel’s hair to curl around his hips, fingers tight around his waist.

Gabriel pulled back with a sharp hiss, laughing breathlessly. “Or on the second date, or-or the sixteenth, for that matter?” he continued, dipping back down to connect their lips once more.

“But who’s counting, right?” Sam mumbled against his mouth, breaking away with a bright grin.

Gabriel chuckled and pressed their brows together, caressing a palm over Sam’s cheek. “Well… I’m getting real tired of that rule right about now.”

As he spoke, Gabriel tentatively rolled his hips, rubbing himself over Sam’s thigh. He wasn’t close enough or centered enough for their growing erections to truly touch, but the effect was instantaneous nonetheless, shooting heat and want through Gabriel’s cock as he lightly tossed his head back and moaned. Sam grunted in surprise and tightened his grip around Gabriel’s hips, feeling as though he were equal parts struggling with whether he should push Gabriel away or bring him in closer.

“Oh jeez, Gabe…” Sam huffed, gaping at Gabriel with flushed, pink cheeks and pupils dilated so wide that only a thin sliver of hazel peeked out from amidst the black. “Gabe, are you – are you sure about this? You were just barely ready to kiss me moments ago, and, and I just want to make sure you—“

“I’m sure,” Gabriel nodded.

Slowly, he stroked a thumb over Sam’s cheekbone, and he leaned in and pecked Sam’s lips, a small but unwavering smile gracing his face.

“I am sure of this. Sam, it was never a question of wanting you. I was… I was scared to start something _more_ with you. Dating to get to know each other was one thing, but now I really want the whole damn thing. I want to be in a relationship with you. I want to go on dates and kiss and cuddle and be gross and sickening around other people. I want to kick Charlie out of the room so I can drive you crazy without her watching. I want to hold your hand and show everyone that you’re _mine_. I want to be with you, Sam, and at first, I was completely scared of it. But now, I’m starting to realize that maybe I don’t have to be anymore. I want everything with you, Sam. I just hope you want the same as me.”

Sam released a quivering sigh, and Gabriel’s hips were starting to hurt with how tightly Sam was clutching at them.

“Beat you to it,” Sam said with an amused breath, despite the fact that his voice was shaking. “I’ve wanted everything with you ever since I approached you at Jo’s bar.”

Gabriel’s resulting laugh was muffled between their mouths as Sam lunged forward to kiss Gabriel again. It was fierce and hungry, a near frantic edge underlying it. Gabriel whimpered, tangling his fingers in Sam’s hair and pulling him even closer. He continued rocking himself over Sam’s thigh, but this time shifting and scooting himself a little bit higher onto Sam’s lap. Sam moaned around Gabriel’s tongue and let go of Gabriel’s hips, gliding his hands down to palm at Gabriel’s ass.

"We only go as far as you want," Sam breathed, parting from Gabriel momentarily. "If you, if you need to stop-"

"Deal," Gabriel whispered, tightening his thighs around Sam's. "But we're not going to need to."

“Fuck, Gabriel,” Sam hissed, his breathing turning ragged and heavy as he pulled Gabriel into the next roll of his hips.

It was enough so that their clothed cocks met in the middle, and Gabriel couldn’t stop the cry that escaped him if he had wanted to, forcing him to part completely from Sam’s lips. He quickly adjusted himself and ground down, shutting his eyes tight against the hot flash of pleasure that erupted through his cock and into his bloodstream at the delicious friction he was experiencing. Sam moaned beneath him, and then Gabriel felt wet kisses being pressed against the base of his throat.

“Jesus, fuck, Sam,” Gabriel gasped, rocking and grinding and rubbing down into Sam with a vengeance, Sam’s moans vibrating through his skin as he continued to mouth along Gabriel’s throat.

It was as though now that the floodgates had opened, Gabriel could not get enough of this man beneath him; he wanted Sam to keep kissing him, keep rolling his hips up to meet Gabriel’s movements, to touch him.

“Sam, Sam, Sam,” Gabriel chanted, opening his eyes and staring down at Sam blearily. “Want you…”

“Yeah,” Sam hissed, continuing to aid Gabriel’s hips in their rocking, bringing him further down with every thrust. “Yeah, God, I want you too. Want you so bad.”

Gabriel shook his head.

“That’s-that’s not what I mean. Not at the moment, at least,” he panted. He brought a hand to Sam’s chin and tilted his head up to look at him. “I want… I want you to touch me. Really touch me.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Gabe, you…”

“If you ask me if I’m sure one more time, I’m getting right up and leaving you here,” Gabriel said, a half-joking air about him despite the tiny threat.

Though it was an empty and idle threat, that was for sure. Gabriel had no intention of doing such a thing, neither to him or Sam. Gabriel could no sooner leave Sam here on the couch, all wanton and blushing and lustful, then he could bite off his own hand. Sam probably knew that too, but that didn’t mean that he was taking chances.

Sam stared up at Gabriel, eyes flitting between Gabriel’s own as if searching for something. Gabriel, impatient and increasingly desperate as he was getting, remained still. He smiled lightly at Sam, head dipping in a nod.

“I want this,” Gabriel whispered.

After a moment more of silent reassurance, Sam nodded as well, smiling at Gabriel’s grin.

Gently, Sam coaxed Gabriel to lift himself up from his lap a little. Gabriel bit his lip to stifle a whimper, loathed to move himself away from Sam, but obeyed regardless, lifting his hips. Only then did Sam slowly remove a hand from Gabriel’s ass and brought it around, cupping it around the bulge in Gabriel’s jeans.

Gabriel quivered and gasped, his hips snapping forward into Sam’s touch. “Fuck, Sam, _yes_.”

Sam chuckled, pressing his hand a little bit more firmly to Gabriel’s crotch. “Look at you. All hot and bothered over little ol’ me?”

“You’re kidding me, right? From the looks of you, and the feel of it,” Gabriel panted, smirking a little past his moans, “you are anything _but_ little.”

Sam laughed, increasing the force behind his strokes as a reward. He continued to knead his hand heavily against Gabriel’s denim-clad cock, until Gabriel was breathing hard with desire and light frustration.

“ _Sammy_ ,” Gabriel keened, bucking his hips forward. “More, c’mon.”

“What do you need me to do? More what?” Sam asked teasingly.

Gabriel scowled. “Fucking hell, Sam, _touch_ me already!”

“As you wish,” Sam beamed.

He removed his hand from Gabriel’s erection, and Gabriel barely had a moment to mourn the loss of it before Sam was practically tearing at the zipper and button of his pants. Gabriel managed a shaky grin; it seemed that for all of Sam’s teasing, he was just as impatient to get this show on the road as Gabriel was.

By the time Sam finally unfastened Gabriel’s jeans and pulled them down just past Gabriel’s ass, they were both hard and aching, breathless from the desire warming them up and clouding their minds.

“God, Sammy, please, please, please,” Gabriel muttered; there was just a thin layer of cotton underwear separating him from Sam’s hand. Sam’s amazingly glorious and large hand, wrapped around his cock and pumping him firm and… “Jesus, touch me, please!”

“Patience, I’m almost there,” Sam whispered. He reached forward and pulled down the elastic waistband of Gabriel’s boxer briefs, sliding them down pale thighs and bunching them just above Gabriel’s jeans. Sam’s eyes widened almost comically as Gabriel’s hardened cock, stiff and curved against his stomach and shining with steadily leaking precome, came into view. “Fuck.”

“Saaaam,” Gabriel whined, his breath hitching in his chest at the sight of Sam staring at his cock with such open reverence and awe.

“Okay,” Sam exhaled. “God, you’re fucking gorgeous, Gabe.”

“I’d say my eyes are up here, but I think you would just—Christ, _shit_!” Gabriel yelped suddenly, screwing his eyes shut tight.

Without any warning, Sam had immediately wrapped his hand around Gabriel’s cock and began to stroke him at a steady pace, pumping his hand up and down the shaft. Gabriel cried out, thrusting his hips up, fucking heavily into Sam’s fist.

“Yeah, _fuck_ , Sam, just like that,” Gabriel hissed. “More, more, _more_.”

He groaned loudly as Sam rubbed his thumb firmly along Gabriel’s slit, his grip slick around Gabriel’s cock. Gabriel grunted and bowed his head forward, resting his forehead on the crook of Sam’s neck, panting shakily against Sam’s throat.

“Sam,” Gabriel moaned, bucking up into Sam’s fist. “ _Sam_.”

“Beautiful,” Sam breathed, nudging his chin against Gabriel’s temple. He turned his face slightly to press a kiss to Gabriel’s hair. “Jesus, Gabe, you have no idea how amazing you look right now. All writhing and panting on top of me.”

Gabriel could only whimper, clutching the back of Sam’s neck and burrowing deeper into his warmth. His hips rocked into Sam’s fist in time with every stroke, each one bringing him closer and closer to his climax. Sam other hand caressed Gabriel’s lower back, fingers slipping underneath the hem of Gabriel’s shirt but going no higher.

“Sam, I’m so close, baby,” he wheezed, kissing and sucking at Sam’s neck. His thrusts were harder, his hips rolled faster, and Sam increased the pace and force behind his strokes. He was right there, staring the end right in the face, and Gabriel gasped for air into Sam’s throat. “Fuck, I’m, I’m almost—“

“C’mon,” Sam grunted, his voice rough with yearning and desire, hot pants blowing into Gabriel’s fringe. “Come for me, Gabe. Let go. Come.”

With one final hard snap of his hips and a keening groan, Gabriel did. A stream of come erupted from his swollen cock, spilling over Sam’s still pumping hand and drenching his fingers, with the rest of the mess pooling into Gabriel’s bunched jeans and underwear.

Completely boneless and heavy with pleasure and lightheaded bliss, Gabriel fell forward into Sam’s chest with an exhausted moan, lips grazing against Sam’s bobbing Adam’s apple.

“Fucking hell,” Gabriel gasped, his heaving chest pressing almost painfully against Sam’s as he fought to catch his breath, but he wasn’t leaving his embrace for anything. Gabriel slid his hand up to Sam’s jaw, gently pulling him down and raising himself up for a winded kiss. “That was _amazing_.”

“I had loads of practice, y’know,” Sam murmured against Gabriel’s lips, humming amusedly.

Gabriel chuckled brokenly, kissing Sam as firmly as he could managed before he had to break away for air. He was shifting into a better position, a little uncomfortable now that he became aware of the mess he was sitting in, when he remembered something.

“Oh jeez, babe, I didn’t mean to leave you high and dry,” Gabriel said, sitting up in Sam’s lap and sliding back a little bit.

Sam shook his head with a loose and fond smile, going for a brief kiss. “You didn’t.”

Gabriel pressed his lips together in confusion and flitted his eyes downward.

“You… you mean you—“

“I guess the sight of you, moaning my name and begging for more, was just too much,” Sam muttered, dipped his head down to bump Gabriel’s nose with his.

Gabriel barked out a laugh and fell forward to tuck his face beneath Sam’s chin, shoulders shaking with mirth. Sam snaked an arm around Gabriel’s back and tugged him a little closer. “Oh man, you are something else.”

Sam chuckled and kissed the top of Gabriel’s head, rubbing a hand down his arm. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I am very, very sticky.”

“Jizzing in your pants will do that to you,” Gabriel nodded. He pulled away with a sigh, his nose wrinkling at the drying come still staining the insides of his thighs and coating his pants and boxers. “Mm, trust me. I’d know.”

“Mind if I borrow your washer and dryer? I don’t particularly want to go back home with crusty pants,” Sam asked, trailing his fingers down Gabriel’s bicep.

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be good,” Gabriel said, leaning in to quickly kiss Sam’s cheek before carefully moving to slide off of Sam’s lap, tucking himself back into his underwear and sliding them and his pants back up with a cringe. “Feel free to go into the bathroom to clean up if you’d like. I’m just gonna change and get some sweatpants for you to wear while your clothes are in the wash. I’m pretty sure I have a few that are way too big on me, but should fit you just fine.”

Sam grinned, standing up from the couch once Gabriel climbed off. “Sounds good to me.”

Gabriel smirked, walking forward until he was pressed against Sam, arms slipping around his waist. Sam smiled down at him, grasping onto Gabriel’s elbows in a slack grip.

“Hmm, look at you,” Gabriel purred, resting his chin on Sam’s chest, keeping his eyes locked on Sam’s as best as he could. “Looking thoroughly blissed out after coming in your pants like a _teenager_.”

Sam tilted his head down and press a tiny kiss to Gabriel’s nose and then to Gabriel’s forehead. “Normally, I might have argued against that, but I am too thoroughly blissed out to even care.”

Gabriel snickered, rolling up onto his tiptoes to kiss Sam. Sam sighed and bowed down a little to compensate for the height difference, kissing Gabriel back languidly. The overwhelming heat of passion and fiery lust from moments ago had dissipated into a slow burn, allowing the two of them to appreciate the closeness of the other, reveling in the other’s contact and warmth.

Sam was the one to pull away a minute later, his face pinched in minor disgust. “As much as I’d love to spend many more minutes doing that, my underwear and pants are gross.”

“Ugh, same. Go on and clean yourself up, babe,” Gabriel said, though he stole another kiss from Sam before he turned and left the living room in the direction of his bedroom. He tossed a playful smirk over his shoulder, catching sight of Sam’s disbelieving grin before he slipped into his room.

An hour and a half later found Sam and Gabriel once again curled up on the couch, now cleaned from their earlier activities, and dressed in their fresh clothes.

Sam pulled up his feet onto the couch and curled up into Gabriel’s side, situating a pillow onto Gabriel’s lap before laying his head down on it with a happy sigh. Gabriel grinned and ran his fingers through Sam’s hair, gently scratching at his scalp. Sam closed his eyes and murmured in pleasure, sinking further down into the pillow.

They were interrupted by the front door unlocking and opening. There were a few distinct claps of what had to be shoes on tile, and then the door slammed.

“What’s up, bitch? Or bitch _es_ , if Sam’s still here?”

“Still here, Charlie!” Sam called out, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow. Gabriel rolled his eyes but smiled.

Charlie marched into the living room, coming to a dramatic halt at the end of the couch as soon as she caught sight of the two men on it. She raised her brows, her eyes flitting between Sam and Gabriel’s expectant faces and the sweatpants that Sam was currently wearing. Gabriel made quick note of Charlie’s hair being abnormally windswept and pinker lips that were definitely not a result of makeup before she spoke up.

“Damn Gabriel, when I said to kiss the boy… you sure don’t leave things half-assed.”

Gabriel wrenched the pillow from underneath Sam’s head and whipped it at her, Sam’s roaring laughter echoing throughout the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, I cannot believe that I allowed this much time to pass before the last update. I am SO sorry!! Oxford completely took up all my time. 
> 
> But the wait is over! Here's the final, smutty ending to this story! Hope you all enjoyed it!

“And that concludes it with this video! Thank you all so much for watching my shameless shenanigans. I’m GoldenTrickster, and I’ll see you all next time!”

Gabriel snapped his fingers for his signature sign-off and waited a second before dropping his hand and removing his headphones. Placing them on his desk, Gabriel slumped back into his chair and released a large sigh, reaching up to rub at his eyes. The video was finally filmed and he’d worry about editing later. Right now, he had other things on his mind.

Gabriel glanced at the clock on his computer screen. Seeing the time, Gabriel pushed himself away from his desk and rolled over to his dresser, standing up once he reached it. He had asked Sam to come over at five-thirty, and it was already nearly five o’clock. Just thinking about Sam’s impending arrival caused shivers of anticipation to travel up Gabriel’s spine, sparks shooting through his veins.

He and Sam had been together for going on four months now, and despite Gabriel’s initial fear and reservations about beginning a relationship with Sam, it had been some of the best months of his life. He was the happiest he’s ever been, and even his past relationship with Kali, as much as he had loved her, was dulling in the background when compared to the all-consuming, but at the same time tender, connection that he felt with Sam.

They had their negative moments, for sure. They argued and fought very often, usually due to Sam’s lack of regard for his own wellbeing, like when he pulled consecutive all-nighters at the library while refusing to eat or sleep until the work was done, or Gabriel’s stubborn insecurities that cropped up at unfortunate moments, and it usually ended with either him or Sam storming off.

The first time Sam had slammed the door to Gabriel’s apartment and stalked out, the result of a nasty fight that stemmed from Sam having cancelled two dates in a row, a slow and cold dread had seeped into Gabriel’s chest and gripped his heart in terror. It had left him in shock and fully believing that Sam was gone for good this time, and that he had once again royally screwed it up. But Sam had come back before the end of the day, tearfully apologetic and remorseful, and eventually Gabriel came to learn that his fights with Sam weren’t a means to an end. They fought, but they always came back, they always worked it out, and Gabriel finally came to believe that Sam was going to remain true to his word and stick around.

They were that much stronger from their experiences together, positive and negative. Throughout the span of their relationship, though, Gabriel hadn’t felt ready to take things further than mutual blowjobs. Sam’s patience was boundless, and Gabriel was eternally grateful for it, but he was finally ready to take it to the next level at last.

Today was the day. He could feel it, and he felt more than ready for it.

Gabriel took in a deep breath and opened his closet. He dropped to a crouch, reaching for the shoebox he knew was pressed up against the wall and dragging it out. He opened the lid and smiled down at the contents.

“Any particular reason you had Jo make sure that I stayed out all night tonight, and possibly have me stay over at her place until tomorrow morning?”

“Shit!” Gabriel cursed, jumping upright in his startled fright and whirling around.

Charlie quirked up a brow, arms crossed over her chest and leaning against the doorframe. Her eyes snapped down toward the shoebox, and she pointed at it. “What do you have there?”

“Uh, nothing,” Gabriel said, swiping his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans, licking his lips nervously. “And what’s wrong with getting my roommate laid? You do want to get laid, don’t you? Wouldn’t have pegged you for one to complain about the promise of sex being offered to you.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining about sex,” Charlie said, uncrossing her arms and stepping into the room. “I just want to know why _you_ suggested it to her.”

“She’s your girlfriend, I just figured…” Gabriel shrugged, trying desperately not to look down at the shoebox.

He failed. Charlie smirked and darted forward before Gabriel had a chance to stop her, snatching up the box with a cackle. Gabriel lunged, but Charlie managed to back up to the door and glance down into the box. Gabriel bit down on his lip and waited.

Charlie’s head snapped up and she stared at him with wide, almost gleeful eyes.

“Oh. Em. Gee. Gabriel, are you _sexiling_ me?” she cried.

“What, no!” Gabriel squawked, his face flushing in his embarrassment.

“You fucking better be, because you could have fooled me with these!” Charlie sang, reaching into the shoebox and lifting the brand new box of condoms that Gabriel had recently purchased. She also shook the shoebox, raising her brows at the rattle of the tube of lube bouncing around the cardboard.

“Okay, okay, so I’m sexiling you. Big deal!” he relented with a huff, folding his arms over his chest.

Charlie giggled, placing the condoms back into the box and clutching it to her chest. “Gabriel, this is huge. Are you feeling ready?”

“I mean, I was,” Gabriel mumbled.

Charlie’s delighted expression dropped into one of light exasperation, and she stepped forward close enough to reach up and swat at the back of Gabriel’s head.

“None of that,” Charlie chastised, gently tossing the open shoebox over to Gabriel, who flailed for a moment before catching it. Charlie smiled in an encouraging manner. “You’re ready. Sam is great, and you’re ready.”

Through the hot humiliation washing through his stomach, Gabriel smiled weakly at his best friend, feeling a little better about the situation now that his best friend knew and approved of what was to happen. “Thanks, Charles.”

“I’ll chop off that impressive dick the next time you call me ‘Charles,’” Charlie promised, her voice sickening sweet and bright despite the clear sincerity of her threat.

Gabriel just grinned, turning around to place the condoms and lube into his nightstand drawer.

Before he knew it, it was five-thirty, and Sam’s punctual knock came at the door. Gabriel trembled with laughter as he watched Charlie quickly open the door, startling Sam. Helpless laughter bubbled out of him as Charlie leapt up to stamp a quick kiss to Sam’s cheek before she floated out of the apartment, tossing a “Be good!” over his shoulder before she disappeared.

Sam whirled around, gaping at his laughing boyfriend and gesturing to where Charlie ran off.

“Is she alright?” Sam asked, a mixture of bemusement and concern etched in his features.

Gabriel chuckled and shook his head. “Not in the slightest. But yeah, in all honesty, she’s fine. She’s just going to have sex with her girlfriend right now.”

Sam’s face smoothed over in brief understanding before he too was laughing. He closed the door behind him and carefully toed off his shoes, walking over to where Gabriel was sitting on the back of the couch. Gabriel grinned and slid off the couch, meeting Sam halfway as he wrapped his arms around Sam’s neck and stretched up for a kiss.

“Hi,” he breathed against Sam’s lips.

“Hmm, hey,” Sam replied, surging down to deepen their kiss.

Gabriel moaned softly, fingers curling into Sam’s hair and gently coaxing Sam a little lower. He opened his mouth, quickly drawing Sam’s tongue inside and pulling back to close his lips over it. Sam groaned as Gabriel languidly sucked on his tongue, and Gabriel’s hands let go of Sam’s hair and glided down to cup his face in between them. He dove back in, circling his tongue around Sam’s soothingly. After a long moment, they slowly and reluctantly pulled apart.

“Wow, that was some kiss,” Sam murmured, rubbing his nose against Gabriel’s. “What’s the occasion?”

Gabriel smiled, his heartbeat rushing up to pound in his throat, and he swallowed. “You’re free for the rest of the night, right?”

Sam nodded, looking a little confused. “Yeah, I don’t have anything going on until tomorrow afternoon, like I said. Why, what’s—“

Gabriel cut him off with another kiss. Contrary to the tender and loving greeting they just shared, this kiss was hard and borderline frantic, with Gabriel sucking and nipping at Sam’s lips. Sam grunted in bewilderment, stiff with brief surprise, before getting with the program and melting into the kiss, shoving his tongue back into Gabriel’s mouth with a pleased hum.

As the kiss simmered and grew in intensity, Gabriel groaned externally and internally. Goddamnit, Gabriel had a _plan_. He was _supposed_ to cook Sam’s favorite meal while engaging in light conversation with Sam as he sat at the opposite side of the kitchen island, effectively wining and dining him, before transitioning to a walk around the campus, and then bringing Sam back for dinner and movies, and _then_ they would move on to this.

This being Sam’s tongue rubbing heavily against Gabriel’s palate, smothering him and leaving him breathless, and the growing swell of Sam’s cock under his jeans pressed tightly against Gabriel’s thigh.

Oh, fuck the plans.

“I think,” Gabriel gasped against Sam’s mouth, airy and muffled around Sam’s lips and tongue. “Ohhh, I think that we should move this to the – _mmm_ – to the bedroom?”

“Yeah,” Sam panted, firmly deepening the kiss before pulling back slightly to speak. “Yeah, God, yes. Want you in my mouth so fucking bad right now.”

“Sam. Sam,” Gabriel moaned, tugging his lips away from Sam’s sinfully tempting mouth, breathing hard. “Sam, I’m… I mean that we should move this to the bedroom… for real.”

It took a moment for the hidden meaning in Gabriel’s words to register in Sam’s mind, but when they did, Gabriel watched with nerve-wracking delight as Sam’s went wide with understanding, shock, and heated arousal. Gabriel shivered, loving the way that Sam’s eyes were already darkening in lust as they stared down at him.

“You, you mean…?” Sam asked, dumbstruck, gaping at his boyfriend.

Gabriel brushed back a wayward strand of Sam’s hair behind his ear. “Yeah. I do.”

A sharp but quivering exhale escaped Sam and he cocked his head to the side, adoration gleaming in his luminous hazel eyes. Cupping Gabriel’s cheek in his hand, Sam smiled, and Gabriel had never felt more certain of a decision in his life than he did at that moment.

“This is the part where I ask you if you’re sure about this, and you threaten to chop off my dick, right?” Sam croaked.

Gabriel laughed, the brief memory of Charlie delivering the same exact threat hours before flashing through his mind, and he shook his head. “Please no talk about chopping off dicks right before we’re about to have sex.”

Sam shook, his eyes fluttering shut for a brief moment. “Deal.”

“And _please_ ,” Gabriel purred, dragging a finger down Sam’s cheekbone and sliding it across Sam’s parted lips. “I wouldn’t do that to you. It’s way too magnificent.”

Sam teasingly kissed at the pad of Gabriel’s finger as it passed by, opening his mirthful eyes. “Glad to have some assurance then.”

Grinning, Gabriel’s hand left Sam’s face and clutched at the front of Sam’s shift. “But I am sure about this, Sam. I am sure about you.”

Sam softened before him. “Gabe…”

“God, Sam, do you have any idea how amazing you are?” Gabriel whispered. “In a span of a few months, you managed to weasel your way through whatever defenses I had up. You broke through whatever fears I had about getting into a relationship and about starting over. I constantly find myself astounded that you chose me to be with. You chose _me_. Beautiful, wonderful, smart, funny _you_ … chose me.”

Sam’s smile shook from the strain behind it and he leaned down to press their foreheads together. “I didn’t choose you, Gabriel. I _found_ you.” Sam stepped in closer and tightened his arm around Gabriel’s torso. “But if I had to choose… I’d definitely choose you. Every single damn time.”

Gabriel smiled and blinked hard and fast, his heart swelling up warmly in his chest. He pulled at Sam’s shirt collar and began to walk backward, bringing Sam with him. “Take me to bed, you sappy nerd.”

Sam snickered and followed suit. As they continued their slow trek toward Gabriel’s room, they began to leave a trail of clothes behind while exchanging sweet kisses in between, starting with Sam’s shirt as Gabriel let go of the collar and reached down to grab the hem, rucking it up to Sam’s armpits. Sam caught on and pulled it over his head, grabbing onto his undershirt as he went, leaving him bare-chested in front of Gabriel.

Gabriel’s shirt soon followed, then his pants, and then Sam’s pants, pooling down at the ankles as they carefully stepped out of them, kissing as they went. They even took the time to slip out of their socks.

As Sam pressed Gabriel up against the doorframe, one hand curled around Gabriel’s wrists and gently holding them above Gabriel’s head, lips locked and tongues exploring, Sam’s other hand was rubbing soothing circles on Gabriel’s hip, gently trailing down to slip past the waistband of Gabriel’s boxers.

“Oh, Sam,” Gabriel moaned quietly as he parted from Sam’s mouth, Sam instantly reattaching himself to Gabriel’s neck, his teeth dragging and sinking into the soft skin. Gabriel rolled his head back until his skull met the doorframe with a gentle thud, closing his eyes as Sam wrapped a calloused fist around his cock and sucked at his neck hard. “ _Sam_.”

“I cannot get over how amazing you look right now,” Sam whispered, pulling away from the red hickey he had sucked into Gabriel’s pale neck, right at the end of his jawline. He nudged the tip of his nose against Gabriel’s cheek, lips grazing, his hand stroking over Gabriel’s cock slowly. “God, you’re so gorgeous. And you’re mine. All mine.”

“Yours,” Gabriel groaned, nodding enthusiastically and surging up for another kiss. He drew in a sharp gasp as Sam’s hand tightened around his cock, precome dribbling from the head and making the glide of Sam’s pumping hand slick around him, sending flashes of heated pleasure zipping through Gabriel’s nerve endings. “All yours.”

Sam kissed Gabriel again, letting go of Gabriel’s wrists and drawing him close. They carefully made their way over to Gabriel’s bed, made slightly complicated by the fact that they were pressed tight together in their unwillingness to separate, Sam’s hand still slowly stroking Gabriel’s cock, and Gabriel’s boxers still wrapped around his thighs.

The back of Sam’s knees hit against the edge of the mattress, and he removed his hand from Gabriel’s cock to wrap both arms securely around Gabriel’s frame as they fell back, the bouncing impact forcing their lips to part with a smack.

Gabriel panted as he stared down at Sam, a shaky smile on his face. Sam looked positively decadent lying there underneath him, his chest expanding deeply, his fringe splayed messily over his forehead, his cheeks flushed, his eyes dark with wanton desire, and his kiss-swollen lips parted with heavy breaths.

“Fuck, all the things I want to do to you,” Gabriel murmured, lowering his head down and trailing chaste kisses down Sam’s chest. He reached back and carelessly tugged his boxers all the way down his thighs, tossing them to an unknown location in his room once they were off. “Don’t know where to even start.”

Sam moaned as Gabriel dipped down to swirl his tongue around a dusky nipple, teasing languidly at the bud until it hardened. His hand came up to tangle his fingers in Gabriel’s golden hair, clenching with gentle tugs.

“Where you’re at right now is a pretty good start,” Sam huffed, licking his lips.

Gabriel chuckled against Sam’s reddened and sensitive nipple, the vibration of it traveling through Sam’s skin and making him tremble.

“Can never get enough of your reactions, babe,” Gabriel said, curling a hand around Sam’s hip. Leaning up, Gabriel nipped at Sam’s collarbone, lapping at the tiny pink marks he left behind. “Want to fuck you so badly.”

Sam gasped, and Gabriel felt Sam’s clothed cock throb against his lower abdomen.

“Yeah,” Sam hissed, eyes snapping shut. “Fuck. Yes, yes, please, Gabriel. _Fuck me_.”

If Gabriel had any lingering reservations about having sex with Sam, they were completely gone now, fizzling away at the raw longing vibrating in Sam’s voice. He grinned and surged up to kiss Sam hard. Sam groaned and wrapped an arm around Gabriel’s neck, lips moving furiously to match Gabriel’s enthusiasm.

“Don’t think I’ll last long enough for proper foreplay,” Gabriel mumbled against Sam’s mouth.

Sam chuckled thickly, breaking away from the kiss. “Me neither,” he panted.

A breathless laugh escaped Gabriel’s reddened lips and he ducked down to kiss Sam’s neck. Slowly, he removed his hand from Sam’s hip and slid his palm down Sam’s abdomen, fingers dancing intricately across toned abs.

“In the nightstand drawer,” Gabriel murmured, nibbling along Sam’s neck, smiling at the tiny, muffled sounds of pleasure Sam was making. “I have, I have some lube. And condoms.”

“Oh God,” Sam breathed.

Placing one more kiss to Sam’s trembling throat, Gabriel pulled back and carefully coaxed Sam to sidle further up the bed. Sam wordlessly obeyed, scooting backward, and once he was close enough he lunged toward the nightstand drawer and began to blindly rummage through it. A few seconds later, he emerged with a triumphant huff, turning to face Gabriel while clutching a condom packet and the bottle of lube.

“Got it!” Sam grinned.

Gabriel smiled back, though admittedly a little shakier than he would have preferred. Hoping Sam didn’t catch his waver and misinterpret it, Gabriel ducked his head and moved to grab the bottle from Sam. A hand wrapped around his wrist before he could reach it, though, and Gabriel glanced back up to meet Sam’s concerned gaze.

“You okay?” Sam asked soothingly, and Gabriel could have cried with how genuinely worried Sam appeared to be for Gabriel’s wellbeing, despite the fact that he was no doubt feeling utterly wrecked. “Gabriel, we don’t have to do anything you don’t—“

“I’m not having second thoughts,” Gabriel quickly said, laying his other hand on top of Sam’s. He smiled and shook his head. “Really, I’m not. I want to do this. I _really_ do. It’s just…”

“It’s still a first,” Sam finished.

Gabriel paused before nodding, his smile growing weak. “I don’t want to mess this up,” he confessed quietly.

Sam softened and placed the condom packet and lube carefully on the bed next to them, cupping Gabriel’s cheek.

“You won’t,” Sam whispered, stroking a thumb over Gabriel’s cheekbone. “I promise you won’t.”

“How?” Gabriel mouthed, barely able to make the word audible.

Sam leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to Gabriel’s forehead.

“Because I’m here, you’re here, and that alone makes all of this perfect,” Sam answered honestly, moving back to look into Gabriel’s eyes. “No matter what, Gabe… this is perfect because it’s with you.”

Speech defied Gabriel in that moment, and all he could do was numbly moisten his bottom lip, gaping up at the wonderful man before him. Sam smiled and stroked Gabriel’s cheekbone once more before moving to take his hand away from Gabriel’s face. Gabriel grabbed onto Sam’s wrist before he could fully take it away, sighing out a watery smile.

“You’re fucking amazing, you know that?” he croaked, tilting his head down to press a few kisses in rapid succession along the row of Sam’s knuckles.

Sam chuckled and bowed down to kiss Gabriel chastely. “And you’re worth it.”

A long exhale blew past Gabriel lips and he closed his eyes leaning forward to reconnect their lips. Sam sighed happily, deepening the kiss almost immediately. Gabriel whimpered softly as their tongues met and, without parting their lips, he shifted them both so that Sam was lying back down and he was on top of him. They continued to kiss languidly, without desperation or urgency, just enjoying and reveling in the warmth and care they found in one another, even as Gabriel reached down to grab the lube.

Gabriel pulled away from the kiss with a soft breath, kneeling over him.

“God, Sam, if you could just see yourself now,” Gabriel muttered, running a hand reverently over Sam’s stomach. “So fucking gorgeous.”

“I am really liking my view right here just fine,” Sam answered, grinning up at Gabriel as he rubbed his hands along the curve of Gabriel’s thighs.

Gabriel licked his lips, glancing down at Sam’s underwear. He blushed faintly at the sight of the cotton fabric stretching obscenely over Sam’s cock, hiding absolutely nothing about how excited Sam was. “Think I need you naked for this part,” he said, a nervous smirk spreading across his face.

“Yes, sir!” Sam laughed, raised his brows at Gabriel. His hands went teasingly slow as they left Gabriel’s thighs and hooked his fingers underneath the waistband of his underwear, tugging it down at an infuriatingly slow pace. Gabriel scoffed, smiling exasperatingly and fidgeting in anticipation.

“Sammy,” Gabriel whined.

Sam beamed and took mercy on him, finally slipping his underwear down his thighs. Gabriel hurriedly moved himself away enough so that Sam could take them off completely before resettling himself back between Sam’s legs.

“Fuck, Sam,” Gabriel breathed, gaping down at Sam and all of his naked glory. Sam’s hardened cock was curved over his stomach, thick and long, the head glistening with precome. Gabriel bit down on his inner cheek, a line of heat traveling down below his navel at the thought of eventually having _that_ inside of him. Gabriel choked back a moan.

“That’s the intent, unless I missed something,” Sam joked.

Gabriel snorted, smiling as Sam shifted his feet up to brace against the mattress, knees bent. Uncapping the bottle, Gabriel dribbled a generous amount of lube onto his fingers.

“Beautiful,” Gabriel whispered, scooting a little closer to Sam. “I can’t believe that you’re mine, Sam.”

Whatever response Sam had was lost in the low keen that erupted from his throat, closing his eyes as Gabriel’s slick finger slowly circled around the edge of his furled hole.  Gabriel’s heart fluttered at the positive response, and he began to press his finger inside, carefully and smoothly going deeper and deeper until he reached the knuckle.

“Oh my God,” Sam groaned, face going slack in blissful pleasure.

“Good?” Gabriel asked, gently pumping his finger in and out.

“Yeah. Fuck yeah, so good,” Sam replied, licking his lips and running his hands along Gabriel’s arms. “ _So_ good. I need – I need more. Please, Gabe, I need _more_.”

Gingerly, Gabriel added in a second finger, shivering at Sam’s resulting moan as he spread them out.

“How’s that?”

“ _More_ ,” Sam demanded.

Gabriel chuckled in disbelief, thrusting his fingers in and out of Sam, stretching him open and subsequently breaking Sam. “Babe, I need to prep you first!”

“Then prep me faster, I need you!” Sam rushed out in a trailed off whine, staring up at Gabriel with eyes glimmering with desperation and trust. It almost took all of the air out of Gabriel’s lungs.

“Give me another moment to stretch you out properly, Sam,” Gabriel said, laying his free palm over Sam’s forehead and brushing back his fringe. He smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to Sam’s brow. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Sam murmured, though his hips shifted downwards onto the next thrust of Gabriel’s fingers. Amusement sparked within Gabriel at the impatient action and he continued to carefully and thoroughly stretch Sam out.

For a while, there was silence between them, save for the broken and choked whimpers from Sam and the panting breaths and kisses from Gabriel. Gabriel increased the force and pace behind his fingers, stretching and spreading and hooking, and then he finally hit the spot within Sam that made him howl in surprised ecstasy and tighten his hands around Gabriel’s biceps.

“Ah, fuck!” Sam gasped, his wide eyes locked on Gabriel’s. “Gabriel, please! I need, I _need_ you inside of me. Please, baby, I _swear_ I’m ready, just fuck me.”

Gabriel groaned, pulling his fingers out of Sam. He heard Sam moan at the loss, but he was slightly more invested in snatching up the condom packet and opening it. But opening the condom packet proved to be an interestingly amusing experience with Gabriel’s still-slick fingers making it almost impossible for him to open the packet until he finally tore it open with his teeth, and then trying to roll the condom onto his cock with fingers quivering in anticipation.

“Fucking hell,” Gabriel laughed, grinning past his embarrassment at his second failed attempt to slip on the condom. “This thing is fighting me.”

Sam snickered and sat up, taking the condom away from Gabriel. “Here, let me.”

“They always say the best sex is when you’re able to laugh during,” Gabriel remarked, gritting his teeth in an effort to maintain composure as Sam managed to slip the condom on his throbbing cock, the brush of Sam’s fingers sending sparks bursting through his veins.

“Well, you always know how to make me laugh, so we’ll probably always have the best sex ever,” Sam smiled, kissing Gabriel. “Just relax. I’m loving everything you’re doing. You’re _so good_ to me.”

Gabriel hummed into the kiss, cupping Sam’s face in between his hands and tenderly laying him back down on the bed. The two of them giggled breathlessly into the kiss as they realized that their height difference created a minor issue of Gabriel being able to line himself up properly.

“I had to fall for the tallest giant on campus,” Gabriel murmured into the kiss.

Sam wrenched his lips away from Gabriel’s with a laugh, beaming at Gabriel with sparkling, fond eyes. “Yeah, well, I fell for the resident Hobbit, so we’re both screwed.”

“I’ll have you know that I am a fun-sized, _average_ height for a man,” Gabriel said. He grabbed the lube bottle to slick up his cock, hissing at the light friction it provided. “And if things go my way, we will both most _definitely_ be screwed.”

“Oh, don’t I know it,” Sam purred suggestively, raising his brows and grinning.

Gabriel huffed and patted Sam’s thigh. “Up.”

Obediently, Sam lifted his legs up and Gabriel carefully situated them on his shoulders. He leaned forward, practically bending Sam in half as he lowered himself down to take his throbbing cock in hand and nudge the head against Sam’s puckered entrance. The feeling sent a wave of warm electricity sparking up his spine.

Gabriel nuzzled into Sam’s cheek and smiled.

“Thank you,” Gabriel whispered, and he slowly began to push inside.

Sam’s eyes fluttered shut and he rolled his head back onto the pillow, lips parted in a silent moan. His hands scrambled on the bed sheets beneath him as Gabriel sank in deeper and deeper in one continuous burning slide. He finally grasped the fabric into tight fists as Gabriel bottomed out, his pelvis flush against Sam’s ass, Sam’s knees pressed firmly to his chest.

“Fuck,” Sam bit out, a warm blush coating his neck and chest. “Oh fuck, _Gabriel_.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel gasped, swallowing thickly at the glorious heat that was wrapped around him. He ducked his head, willing himself not to blow too soon. “Oh Jesus, oh fuck! You feel _incredible_ , Sam.”

“Gabe, please,” Sam begged, opening his eyes and letting go of the sheets beneath him, raising his hands to cup Gabriel’s face. “Please. _Move_.”

Gabriel moaned and carefully shifted forward, getting himself into a more comfortable position before he began to thrust. Sam grunted out a pleased gasp as Gabriel began to move, his hips rolling forward in shallow but firm motions. Gabriel moaned, his head whirling with pleasure and deep and overwhelming feelings of disbelief because this was _Sam_ and he was having sex with _Sam_ , and he was able to kiss him whenever he wanted and call him his boyfriend, and hold his hand and cuddle with him, and adore him and be cherished by him…

And Gabriel knew that he was completely and utterly ruined for anyone else. He didn’t want anyone else except for the gorgeous, beautiful man beneath him. He was Sam’s, and Sam was his. The revelation was enough to cause his hips to stutter as he fought down the swell of emotion that lodged hard in his throat.

“Sam,” Gabriel moaned brokenly.

Sam whimpered in response and tightened his fingers around Gabriel’s jaw, surging up to press heavy kisses to Gabriel’s chin and cheeks.

“Gabriel,” Sam breathed, leaning up to press a slack kiss to his mouth. “ _Gabriel_.”

Gabriel groaned and lunged down to deepen the kiss, panting heavily into Sam’s mouth as he stroked a hand down Sam’s taut and trembling thigh. He curled his other hand into Sam’s sweat-dampened hair, tugging his lips even closer, devouring Sam’s mouth in a frantic kiss.

Sam’s delighted cries were muffled by Gabriel’s tongue and lips, and Gabriel was sure Sam was going to leave bruises on his jaw by how hard he was clutching it, but he could care less. He rocked into Sam harder and faster, pulling out almost completely before snapping forward in one smooth glide.

Sam suddenly jolted with a shrill cry, forcing their lips to separate. Gabriel was startled for a moment before catching sight of the darkened lust blowing Sam’s pupils wide open, and he smirked shakily. Canting his hips toward the right angle, he pushed forward, immediately rewarded with another one of Sam’s whines.

“Like that, huh?” he said, slowly dragging his cock over Sam’s prostate.

Sam gasped and shook, hitching himself up in an effort to thrust back. “Like it? _Love_ it, oh my God, oh fuck!”

Gabriel smirked wider and turned to press a kiss to Sam’s knee, rebuilding the momentum between his thrusts, aiming each and every one to strike against Sam’s prostate. Sam clawed at the blankets, biting down on his bruised lip. Gabriel leaned down and kissed him, coaxing Sam to release his lip from between his teeth.

“I wanna hear you,” Gabriel murmured, delivering gentle pecks to Sam’s lips, a stark contrast to the rough movements of his thrusts. “Don’t hold back on me now.”

“Okay,” Sam nodded frantically, kissing Gabriel back as best as he could between pants. “Oh jeez, okay, okay, okay. Oh God, Gabriel, go harder!”

Gabriel was quick to obey, jostling Sam’s knees against his chest with the force behind his thrusts. Sam cried out, reaching out to palm at Gabriel’s ass, trying to pull him closer.

“Oh my—!“ Sam was cut off as another hoarse yell of pleasure escaped him. He screwed his eyes shut and groaned. “Gabriel, Gabe, I’m gonna… Oh fuck, babe, I’m close!”

“Me too,” Gabriel breathed, his voice wobbling under the familiar coil of heat overwhelming him, singing through his veins and lighting his nerve endings on fire. He shoved himself forward, losing himself in Sam, pressing his lips to Sam’s cheek. “Sam, Sam, _Sam_ —“

A coarse shout of Gabriel's name, and then Sam stiffened underneath him, groaning as hot pulses of come erupted from his untouched cock, messily coating his abdomen in white. Gabriel managed a couple more shallow and quivering thrusts before he too was pushed over the edge, arching deep into Sam with a low moan as he came. Muscles trembling from their exertion, Gabriel kissed along Sam’s cheek and jaw almost absentmindedly, panting hard against flushed skin.

“Fuck,” Sam gasped, breathing heavily and cupping a hand around Gabriel’s neck. “ _Wow_.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel huffed, grinning wildly into the next quick kiss he placed on Sam’s cheek. “God, you were amazing.”

Sam chuckled thickly, stroking his fingers into Gabriel’s golden hair, now plastered onto Gabriel’s sweaty neck. “Gabriel…”

Gabriel slowly tilted his head to kiss Sam, keeping it short and chaste, but no less passionate. He pulled back with a loving smile, and he carefully sat up, removing Sam’s legs from his shoulders. Gritting his teeth, Gabriel pulled out of Sam, whimpering lightly at the friction against his softened and sensitive cock. He took off the soiled condom and tied it, tossing it in the wastebasket beside the bed. When he was finished, he turned back to Sam with a smile.

“I’ll be right back,” he muttered, rubbing a gentle thumb along Sam’s swollen bottom lip.

Sam smiled back at him, impishly kissing Gabriel’s thumb before it retreated. Gabriel grinned and rolled out of the bed, leaving the room. Moments later, he came back with a damp washcloth.

“Let’s get you cleaned up real quick,” Gabriel said, running the wet cloth over Sam’s stomach.

“Mmm, you were incredible, Gabriel,” Sam drawled happily, placing his hand over Gabriel’s as he continued to clean up any traces of come left on his abdomen. “Fuck, that was amazing. You were so good to me, baby.”

Gabriel tossed the washcloth to the side when he finished with it, staring down at Sam fondly. Leaning down, he took Sam’s face in his hands and pressed a long kiss to his lips. They broke apart with a slick smack, and Gabriel affectionately rubbed his nose against Sam’s.

“It’s you,” Gabriel whispered, as if that were the answer to everything.

Perhaps it was.

Sam grinned, his hazel-green eyes gleaming with unrestrained joy. Gabriel felt something quiver hard in his chest and he rolled to the side, laying on his back. Without another word, he tugged Sam over to him. Sam wasted no time in curling up against Gabriel’s side, resting his cheek over Gabriel’s chest and tossing an arm over his stomach, pulling him even closer.

For a moment, they didn’t speak, each of them lost in their warmth of the other’s presence and in the hazy mist of pleasure. Gabriel lifted an arm to wrap around Sam’s back, cradling him close as he pressed a kiss to his temple.

“I was right all along,” Sam mumbled sleepily into Gabriel’s chest after a moment. His lips were slack and barely moved as he spoke, and Gabriel felt Sam’s eyelashes trickle slowly against his chest as Sam’s eyes fluttered.

Gabriel stroked a comforting palm down Sam’s back and tilted his head to glance down at his boyfriend, unable to ignore the curiosity he felt at Sam’s remark.

“Right about what?” he whispered.

Sam hummed, shifting up a little to press his nose into Gabriel’s neck, the curve of his smile stretching happily across his face.

“That you would be worth waiting forth,” Sam murmured, pressing a chaste kiss to Gabriel’s wobbling Adam’s apple. “That you’ll _always_ be worth waiting for.”

Stunned into silence, Gabriel blinked as heat gathered behind his eyelids, blurring his vision with a thin sheen of tears. Emotion wracked through him, swelling up pleasantly in his heart and soul, and Gabriel knew without a doubt that he loved this man.

Tongue darting out to moisten his lips and swallowing roughly, Gabriel pulled Sam even closer into his embrace and nestled his face into Sam’s hair.

“I love you,” he whispered harshly, teeth clenched to bite back a cry.

He felt Sam’s sleepy grin widen, and he felt the words inaudibly being mouthed into his skin, but a soft gust of warm breath coated his neck and Sam drifted off at last with a quiet snore.

Gabriel sighed out a laugh and smiled through his tears, pressing a firm kiss to the top of Sam’s head. It didn’t matter that he didn’t hear the words said back right at this instant. He believed wholeheartedly that Sam loved him, and he knew that Sam would be around to say the words later.

Later, and for many days to come.


End file.
